A three-year-old boy was mistakenly served a full glass of white wine and took a sip during a Cathay Pacific flight, according to a Xiaohongshu post uploaded by the boy’s parents.
The post detailed that the incident occurred during a flight from Hong Kong to London on April 24, when the boy told his father, surnamed Tsui, that the beverage was sour after a meal distribution.
Tsui immediately discovered that it was white wine instead of water that had been ordered for his child. However, the cabin crew only exchanged the white wine for water without promptly providing medical assistance.
Following the parents’ insistence, a passenger who claimed to be a doctor from France checked the boy and identified that he had no symptoms.
The cabin crew subsequently told the parents merely to “watch for symptoms” based on the passenger’s judgment, and contacted emergency services, Medlink, after the parents rejected the suggestion to simply file a case by email for the incident.
Fortunately, the boy showed no obvious symptoms on the plane, and the parents are in the process of arranging comprehensive medical assessments with pediatric specialists.
The airline has apologized to the parents in the response email, admitting the cabin crew’s “oversight” of serving wine instead of water by mistake, and offering vouchers and a refund to the passengers.
It also mentioned that the company has conducted coaching with the relevant cabin crew to reinforce the importance of checking orders before serving them.
However, the involved cabin crew has not expressed an apology, and no proof of new safeguards has been provided to the parents as of Monday.
According to the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, the legal drinking age for purchasing alcohol in Hong Kong is 18. This ordinance prohibits the sale or supply of alcohol to anyone under this age in a commercial setting.
“If a flagship Asian carrier can miss such basic safeguards in business class, every traveling family is at risk,” Tsui told The Standard.
He also stressed that the purpose of posting the incident on social media is to raise parents' awareness of child safety during flights.
In addition, the parents have filed formal complaints with multiple authorities, including the Civil Aviation Department, the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, the Consumer Council, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
“This incident, especially given its potential impact on our son for the rest of his life, has caused our family tremendous emotional stress and anxiety,” Tsui said.
