Cho Hyun-ah, the No. 2 executive of Korean Air, bowed to public pressure and resigned from all her posts on Tuesday amid a controversy over her spat with a flight crew member.

The resignation came hours after the nation’s flag carrier apologized for the controversy caused by Cho.

Cho, the eldest daughter of chairman Cho Yang-ho of Korean Air affiliate Hanjin Group, served as executive vice president of the carrier’s flight services and president of the KAL Hotel Network.

The daughter stirred up a stormy controversy for ordering the chief flight attendant of a Korean Air jet, with some 250 passengers aboard, to leave the plane after a spat over how nuts were served, according to news reports. The flight was on its way to Incheon airport from New York last Friday.

The daughter reportedly was angered when a flight attendant served her an unopened package of macadamia nuts instead of on a plate. She then took issue with the attendant over the service manual.

The plane had already pushed back from the gate and was on the taxiway when she ordered it to turn back to disembark the crew member. The return caused a flight delay, according to Yonhap.

The incident immediately sparked a public uproar. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)