South Korean online retailers say demand for macadamia nuts has skyrocketed after a Korean Air Lines executive delayed a plane over an incident now dubbed "nut rage".

Auction, a South Korean unit of eBay, says sales of macadamias surged nearly 1200 per cent during the five days to Sunday without any sales promotions.

The website of e-commerce firm Coupang showed Mauna Loa macadamia nuts were out of stock.

Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of Korean Air's chairman, forced a flight attendant off a December 5 flight after she was served bagged macadamia nuts, not on a plate.

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She resigned from executive roles including head of cabin service amid a storm of criticism.

Cho's over-mighty behaviour hogged headlines in local media and spawned parodies on the internet in the past week.