'Report! She brought illegal food': AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes 'punishes' passenger for bringing her own food on flight

Imagine being on a flight and bumping into the chief executive officer (CEO) of the airline. 

And worst yet — you're caught in the act of doing something that goes against the company's policy. 

That's what happened to one passenger on a recent AirAsia flight. 

On Thursday (Feb 1), AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes uploaded a video showing him helping the flight attendants hand out free drinks on a flight. 

@tonyfernandesairasia Just pre-book your @santan ♬ Funny Song - Funny Song Studio & Sounds Reel

During this, he noticed that one of the passengers had brought outside food onto the plane — Korean barbecue chicken, to be exact. 

"Report! Report! She brought illegal food. Policy says no outside food allowed," Fernandes said with a chuckle. 

He also jokingly "punished" the passenger by saying that she would not get any free drinks. 

In the captions, Fernandes wrote: "Just pre-book your Santan meals. It's way cheaper than outside food and drink."

For context, Santan meals are what AirAsia calls their inflight food. 

It seems like Fernandes' response to the passenger left a good impression on many as several netizens left positive comments. 

Some said they wanted to join AirAsia while one remarked that Fernandes was the "most friendly big boss" they had ever seen. 

Another commented that they have never met Fernandes in real life before despite being a regular AirAsia customer, but thought that the passengers who did so were "very lucky". 

This isn't the first time the CEO has made an appearance on an AirAsia plane. 

In October last year, he showed his appreciation to guests on a flight. 

"I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for your support," he said in the TikTok video shared on his page.

"It has been a really hard three years and providing many people a chance to fly makes me very happy and makes it all worthwhile."

ALSO READ: How to survive a long haul flight? Former SIA flight attendant reveals practical tips for travellers

melissateo@asiaone.com

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