Three-year-old boy accidentally served wine on Cathay Pacific flight to London
A three-year-old boy was accidentally served a glass of white wine on a recent Cathay Pacific flight.
The family were travelling in business class from Hong Kong to London on 24 April when the incident occurred.
After taking a sip of the drink, which the boy believed to be water, he complained to his father, Mr Tsui, that it tasted sour.
The child's father then sampled the drink and quickly realised that it was, in fact, white wine.
The family immediately alerted a member of the cabin crew who reportedly apologised, removed the wine and replaced it with water, reports The Straits Times.
Distraught, the boy's mother Ms Wong escalated the matter with a senior crew member, who identified an onboard doctor to assess the boy.
The fellow passenger reportedly assured the boy's mother that the boy displayed no adverse symptoms and would be fine.
Ms Wong shared her experience of the unsettling incident on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform.
'We understand that alcohol consumption in young children can have delayed neurological, developmental and physiological impacts that may not manifest immediately,' she said.
She added that the family are in the process of arranging further medical assessments with paediatric specialists.
According to reports, the airline offered to refund the child's ticket with three one-class upgrade vouchers and to cover the cost of medical check-ups.
In an email to the family, the airline apologised to the couple for the incident, and offered to refund the child's ticket with three one-class upgrade vouchers and to cover the costs of medical check-ups.
It added that it had conducted immediate coaching for all cabin crew to reinforce the importance of checking food orders before serving them.
However, Ms Wong stated that Cathay Pacific did not offer a satisfactory account of why the incident occurred or how it would prevent similar events happening in future.
'During the whole process, there was a lack of care for my son,' she said.
'They gave me the impression that they were trying to shirk responsibility.'
The boy's father later told media that the couple shared their experience online in an effort to raise awareness of child safety on flights.
'If a flagship Asian carrier can miss such basic safeguards in business class, every travelling family is at risk,' he said.
In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for Cathay Pacific said: 'Cathay Pacific sincerely apologises for the incident in which an alcoholic beverage was mistakenly served to a minor on flight CX255 from Hong Kong to London on 24 April 2025.
'Out of an abundance of caution, immediately following the incident, our cabin crew paged medical personnel on board and consulted an independent medical agency to ensure the child's safety while providing the necessary assistance and support.
'Throughout the flight, our cabin crew regularly monitored the child's condition. The customers disembarked the flight as normal.
'We take this matter very seriously and have launched an internal review to ensure appropriate follow-up actions are implemented and goodwill is being offered. We will continue to support and assist the family.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Schoolboy, 8, diagnosed with terminal illness after GPs dismissed symptoms as dyspraxia for two years
A schoolboy's incurable disease was written off as dyspraxia by doctors for two years before he was diagnosed with a life-changing terminal condition. Eddie Worman, then six, first caused concern after his mother Rachel, 39, noticed he was struggling to walk upstairs. After two years of GP and physiotherapy appointments, Eddie's worried family finally received clarity and in April 2024 were told their son had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The debilitating neuromuscular disease leads to muscle wastage and weakness and Eddie is one of just 2,500 sufferers across the whole of the UK. Now Eddie's family, including his sisters Maisie, 13, and Olive, 10, have launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for his ongoing care and to buy a specialised wheelchair before his condition worsens. The mother-of three and her husband, carpet fitter Adrian, 46, first became concerned more than two years ago after noticing their little boy appeared to struggle with his mobility. Rachel told MailOnline: 'I took him to the GP initially, because I was worried about the fact that he was really struggling with stairs. He was struggling with his mobility in terms of having to clutch hold of his legs and his thighs in order to climb the stairs. 'I just thought "that cannot be normal for a three to four-year-old should be tearing up and down the stairs". And obviously I had his two older sisters to compare him to. 'He wasn't complaining of pain per se, but it was general little things like, if he was sitting on the floor he wouldn't just jump up like a child would normally, he would clutch hold of his side, or he'd have to hold onto a piece of furniture.' She added that it became even more noticeable when he went to school and she was regularly called in after he had been injured while playing. 'When he got to school I was getting called constantly that he was in and out of the medical bay, and he was sustaining head injuries where he wasn't able to duck out of the way when he'd have children of his own age hurtling towards him and playing games', she said. Rachel explained she went to the GP and raised her concerns but explained the doctor did not seem particularly worried. The mother-of-three persevered and her little boy was eventually seen by an occupational therapist. After a three-hour assessment Rachel was given the news that Eddie had dyspraxia but that it would need to be confirmed by a paediatrician. Dyspraxia is a common developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) that affects movement and co-ordination according to the NHS. In a follow-up appointment in March 2024, Rachel was told it wasn't dyspraxia but was instead DMD. She nurse said she was left in complete shock and said: 'I never thought for one second it was anything muscular related because even me in a medical profession, I hadn't really heard of Duchenne.' She explained that she went in to 'complete panic mode' and was angry at the length of time it had taken Eddie to be diagnosed. She added that the terminal diagnosis 'devastated' their family and now they're focusing on how Eddie's life can be made comfortable. Those with DMD have a significantly shorter life expectancy, with the average person only living to between 22 and 30 years of age and many dying of heart and lung failure. She said: 'As a parent you can't bear the idea that there is anything physically wrong with your child, or that they're going to struggle in any way, shape or form throughout their life.' Following his diagnosis, Eddie has been on a strict routine of medication, physio and hospital appointments. The eight-year-old takes six doses of steroids a day and has 45 minutes of intense physio in the morning and another session in the evening as well as wearing leg braces each night. Normal activities are difficult for the family-of-five and Rachel explained that they struggle to go out to the cinema and says she didn't realise what she took for granted before. She said: 'It's grueling. Everything sort of happened and changed overnight.' Rachel added that she finds it difficult to navigate the world with Eddie and said it has become 'glaringly obvious' to her the world is 'not designed for children with disabilities'. She said the family can't even make a quick trip to Tesco because Eddie becomes too tired and needs to be carried through the supermarket. Rachel also confessed she is worried about school and told MailOnline that while his friends make sure to include him in games where they can there are some things he can't do. 'At sports day they make sure he is still included but even playing hide and seek with friends, he just can't keep up,' she said. Now Rachel and Adrien are crowdfunding to help them with the increased costs of looking after Eddie. The worried mother told MailOnline that they're looking in to moving to a more accessible house because their current family home is simply not suitable for his needs. Changes they need to make include converting a garage in to a downstairs wet room, adding a lift and even converting their loft. Rachel said the couple are looking at a 'financially difficult future' and the nurse added she now 'lives to work' to make sure they can afford specialist equipment including a power assisted wheelchair for Eddie. Eddie's parents explained that he is not eligible for one under the NHS and they can cost upwards of £1,000. Rachel has also found support from other parents whose children are battling the condition and added that Facebook and Whatsapp communities have been invaluable. She said: 'My biggest support was from those parents, because they understand they understand exactly what you're going through. I reached out to them as soon as Eddie was diagnosed because I was so lost.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
The one thing you must discuss with your dad on Father's Day
On Father's Day, many of us will call our Dads for a chat. We'll discuss many things: the news, sport, the family. But few of us will touch on our health. For we men aren't very good at addressing that: I am the son of a GP but even my dad and I don't talk enough about health. In fact he's had a prostate cancer test, but it took him a while to get around to it. It's not that the topic is taboo, more that it never seems quite the right moment to ask a delicate question. But talking about health with your dad, and particularly the misconceptions around prostate cancer, could save their life. It is one of the best things you could do this Father's Day, and a true act of love. I have been an ambassador for Prostate Cancer Research for three months now, and what has really struck me in this time is how alien it is for men to proactively ask to be checked for a disease. Our assumption is that if everything is working fine, it is fine. I've been talking to men about the disease in Yorkshire, in London, in Southampton and it's worrying how many misconceptions there are about Britain's most common cancer. When I raise prostate cancer and the need to get checked, men regularly tell me that everything is functioning down there, so they don't need a test. But that is not right: and this confusion is costing lives. An Ipsos poll found that just 7 per cent of people know that prostate cancer – which one in eight men will be diagnosed with during their lifetime – is symptomless in the early stages. If you wait to take action until you are in pain, there's blood in your urine or you are having trouble peeing, you will have left it dangerously late. The cancer will almost certainly be advanced at this point, and treatment far less certain to succeed. This ignorance is costing lives. It is why we need a targeted national screening programme to make sure that the right men are being checked at the right time for the disease. If we can make this happen, we can save thousands of lives. So, this Father's Day, talk through with your dad the risk factors for prostate cancer. Does he have a close relative who has had the disease? If so, he's more at risk and should make getting checked a priority. Are you black? If so, your risk is significantly higher – one in four black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. The benefit of getting checked is that if the disease is caught early, it can be treated relatively easily and with a high success rate. But if it is caught after the cancer has spread then that makes treatment far harder and is bad news for survival chances. Once the cancer has spread, the success rate of treatment is below 50 per cent. Thanks to the work of charities such as Prostate Cancer Research and the bravery of individuals hit by the diseases who have spoken out about the need to get checked, people are far more aware of prostate cancer than they were. I know my friend President Biden's fight against the disease will raise awareness too. I also salute the thousands who will join the March for Men in Battersea Park today. But despite all this work, too few people know that prostate cancer is generally symptomless in the early stages. I've even heard from consultants treating patients who were initially denied a PSA screening test on the basis that they had no symptoms. The National Screening Committee will decide later this year whether to introduce a targeted national screening programme. I would urge them to commit to this without delay. It is a move that will save lives and with the number of prostate cancer cases having increased by 25 per cent in the past five years, the problem is too urgent to wait any longer. We need a screening programme for the UK's most common cancer now.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘They entrusted me with their daughter's memory': Women's prize winner Rachel Clarke on her story of a life-saving transplant
To read Rachel Clarke's The Story of a Heart, which has won this year's Women's prize for nonfiction, is to experience an onslaught of often competing emotions. There is awed disbelief at the sheer skill and dedication of the medical teams who transplanted the heart of nine-year-old Keira, who had been killed in a head-on traffic collision, into the body of Max, a little boy facing almost certain death from rapidly deteriorating dilated cardiomyopathy. There is vast admiration for the inexhaustible compassion of the teams who cared for both children and their families, and wonder at the cascade of medical advances, each breakthrough representing determination, inspiration, rigorous work, and careful navigation of newly emerging ethical territory. And most flooring of all is the immense courage of two families, one devastated by the sudden loss of a precious child, the other faced with a diagnosis that threatened to tear their lives apart. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion To write such a story requires special preparation. 'I was full of trepidation when I first approached Keira's family,' Clarke tells me the morning after she was awarded the prize. 'I knew that I was asking them to entrust me with the most precious thing, their beloved daughter Keira's story, her memory.' The former journalist trained as a doctor in her late 20s, and has spent most of her medical career working in palliative care. Subsequently, she has also become an acclaimed writer and committed campaigner, publishing three memoirs: Your Life in My Hands, Dear Life and Breathtaking. She turned to her medical training for guidance when writing The Story of a Heart. 'I said to myself, my framework will be my medical framework, so I would conduct myself in such a way that they would, I hoped, trust me in the same way that someone might trust me as a doctor. And if at any point they changed their mind, then they could walk away from the project.' Each family read the manuscript in its entirety, with Clarke determined that she would not publish if they had any qualms. On the morning that we speak, she has been in touch with them, and she reads me a message from Loanna, Keira's mother. It says simply: 'Keira really has made such a difference to so many people. She is just incredible.' Loanna, she goes on to tell me, now visits schools to tell children about Keira; Max's mother, Emma, is an 'indefatigable' ambassador for the NHS's organ donation programme. Nobody who reads the book could forget the almost superhuman fortitude of Keira's father, Joe, or her sisters, all of whom not only consented but pressed forward with donating her organs, even as Loanna and Keira's brother were gravely injured. There, too, is the bravery of Max's father, Paul, supporting his desperately ill son through the pain and trauma of treatment; and Max's brother, Harry, now finishing his second year at medical school. It is because of these people that in 2020, Max and Keira's Law entered the statute books, ruling that adults would be presumed to have given consent to organ donation, rather than having to opt in, an enormously important step in addressing the scarcity of donor organs. For Clarke, it was also important to shine a light on the care with which the medical teams treat those who, in death, are giving someone else the chance of life; from the 'moment of honour' that precedes all surgery to retrieve donor organs, in which all fall silent to consider the patient, to the last offices of washing and dressing performed by nurses. 'It's the patient that's the important person,' she explains. 'And I think that says something very profound about us as a species, doesn't it?' Clarke, who is the mother of two teenagers, spends half her time working with patients, and half on 'other things'; not only writing books, but shining a light on the challenges her profession – and by extension all of us – are facing. At the moment, she is furious about the government's recent decision to stop issuing visas to foreign care workers, because what they do is regarded as unskilled labour. With a shortage of 100,000 care workers, the result is patients unable to be discharged from hospital: 'A direct consequence of that is I will see more patients on trolleys dying outside an A&E that they can't even get into because we don't have enough care workers. I will look them in the eye. Keir Starmer won't. Wes Streeting won't. But I will, and I will try to give them the best care I can in a corridor where there isn't even a curtain to draw around them for dignity.' She has, she says, always been torn between the arts and science, but that medicine is 'the perfect marriage of hard science and beautiful, messy humanity. And I try to write books that represent medicine accurately in that sense. You are not a good doctor if you're just a scientist and you're not a good doctor if you're just about emotion and feeling: you have to marry the two.'
