Calm and care: How AirAsia staff helped a sick toddler in the air

6 Jul 2025 • 4:56 PM MYT
Daily Express
Daily Express

Daily Express Online (Malaysia) is Sabah's top-ranked & most viewed English news site. It is also Sabah's leading & most circulated daily English newspaper.

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By: Sabah Publishing House Sdn Bhd

A MOTHER has expressed heartfelt gratitude to AirAsia staff for their swift and compassionate response when her toddler daughter suffered an in-flight medical emergency.

Taking it to Facebook on Saturday, Jacyntha Florentius shared that she and her 1-year-7-month-old daughter, Natashya Sofea, were on board flight AK115 from Guangzhou to Kuala Lumpur on 4 July when the child suddenly became pale, weak, and unresponsive mid-flight.

Cabin crew promptly administered oxygen while alerting the pilots and making an onboard announcement for medical assistance, to which a doctor on board responded immediately.

window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});The pilots, led by Captain Sangeran Surendran, lowered the aircraft's altitude and later diverted the flight to Ho Chi Minh City for urgent medical care.

Throughout the descent, crew members continued monitoring the child’s condition with care, and upon landing, a medical team was already waiting on standby to assess her.

The family was escorted directly to an ambulance and taken to a hospital, where an AirAsia ground staff member stayed with them to ensure a smooth process, including expedited medical tests.

Doctors confirmed the toddler had suffered from altitude sickness, and AirAsia later arranged a complimentary return flight, offering full assistance until the family reboarded for Kuala Lumpur.

The post had attracted more than 140,000 reactions and over 20,000 shares.