Flight attendants served a three-year-old boy sitting in business class wine instead of water on Cathay Pacific flight 255 from Hong Kong to London a couple of weeks ago. The child’s mother complained online after she found the airline’s response insufficient, and sharing concerns about her child’s long-term health from drinking alcohol so young. But the boy took only one sip, complaining to his mother that it was “too sour.”
His mom tasted the drink, realized it was wine, and flag down cabin crew – who immediately apologized, took the glass and brought back actual water. The woman escalated this to the purser, and the cockpit got Medlink involved for advice. They also sought passengers onboard with medical training, and a French doctor consulted – who said, look, five year old kids in France drink all the time and one sip is no big deal.
The boy has shown no immediate symptoms, but Wong and her husband are currently arranging comprehensive medical assessments with pediatric specialists seeking one who will support a claim for delayed neurological, developmental, and physiological effects.
Credit: Mother’s Post on RedNote
After the flight Cathay Pacific apologized and offered:
- a refund of the child’s ticket
- three upgrade vouchers to move to first class
- reimbursement for medical treatment
They also insist that they’re reinforcing crew training to prevent similar incidents in the future. However the mother is still not satisfied, claiming that the carrier should provide more of an explanation for how such a mistake happened (‘the flight attendant made a mistake’?) and accuses them of attempting to avoid responsibility. She feels that:
- the flight attendant should be following up directly to apologize
- the airline should provide concrete proof that new safeguards have been implemented
Credit: Mother’s Post on RedNote
As a result, she has filed formal complaints with Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department, the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, the Consumer Council, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Meanwhile, cabin crew forums discussing the issue argue that declining service standards and insufficient training for new flight attendants rapidly hired to support the carrier’s expansion are likely to blame. In this case, properly-trained crew might have marked the beverage to avoid delivering the wrong drink to the wrong passenger.
Bloody hell, overreact much? Taking the kid to doctors (after asking an on-board doctor if it’s a problem, and they pointed out French kids drink wine at 5… LOL) and etc. over one sip of wine?
I’m just not sure if they’re looking for a payday (most likely) or if they’re one of those ridiculously paranoid parents. But sheesh… I feel bad for the kid if the mom’s going to overreact like this either way.
Well, I think the mother should be partially responsible for this. I have a young toddler. I always watch what people serve him. They’ll hand the food to me and I’ll double check before I pass it on to my boy.
I think the mom is very non-attentive with her child And maybe it’s the first time she flew business and she’s overwhelmed and keep taking selfies and forgot about her child she’s making a real big deal out of this. She and her family has already been compensated for the stewardess mistake and by the way, everybody makes mistakes it
Happens and give the stewardess a break, man.
And it’s a sip and the child split it out. So 1/4 of a sip ?
And no doubt the parents give him candy and sodas all the time.
OMG. The kid is 100% fine, and the mother is looking for a huge cash payout. Cathay Pacific is scared of bad publicity and being sued; they’ve already done too much and inso doing, has encouraged the mother rather than satisfied her. This is NOT the same as driving through McDonald’s, then spilling your onto your lap and getting burned (and that was another ridiculous payout).
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@hwertz —> I agree. That poor kid…
Of course they are looking for the golden egg. Please GET over it!
Sounds like the parents need $$.
O…. M…. G…..
Another Karen attempting to CASH IN. The kid isn’t harmed in any way. It was a MISTAKE!!
FFS…the parents are making too much of a big deal out of this. As the French doctor said, this is nothing to really worry about. Yet these crazy assessments the parents are subjecting the child to are probably a form of child abuse in that they probably want a huge payout.
Just take your compensation and move on.
Airline should withdraw settlement offer as improvidently offered and tell parents to pound sand.
As an attorney, I’m embarrassed for the culture of unearned paydays for minor mistakes with no injuries of any kind. The kid gets more alcohol or depresants in kids’ cough syrup. Horrible parenting, setting this kind of moral example.
The wine was probably for her and he picked it up and drank out of it wasn’t paying attention when it was put there definitely looking for a payday overreacted to the fullest ❤️
I say this as a lifelong teetotaler: This. Is. Freakin’. Ridiculous.
Please, Cathay Pacific, tell them to pound sand.
I know they have to make old Karen happy. I’m just hoping not too happy and she gets stuck with all those speciality doctor bills, goes broke, husband and dog leave her, son grows up to be an alcoholic and she gets put on the no fly list.. if they don’t put a stop to it now, she won’t be the last one to try this little get rich quick scheme.
I know they have to make old Karen happy. I’m just hoping not too happy and she gets stuck with all those speciality doctor bills, goes broke, husband and dog leave her, son grows up to be an alcoholic and she gets put on the no fly list.. if they don’t put a stop to it now, she won’t be the last one to try this little get rich quick scheme.
Lasting damage?? Is she nuts?
No, she’s just seeing an opportunity for a huge payday. I hope the airline doesn’t play along. This is ridiculous.
Is this serious? They better nip this is the bud right now before these horrible parents own the company.
When my niece was a toddler she once went around the table after the meal was over and emptied the wine glasses….she probably consumed a total of a couple of mouthfuls….she is now a teacher and school administrator….so no harm done… what a drama Queen the mom sounds like….
To me this seems to be a money grab. I had friends who started giving sips of beer to their kids at three. They were American of German descent and it was a cultural thing. The kids turned out ok. Some liquid medicines have a high alcohol content as does some mouthwash. Some foods also have a high alcohol content.
They’re definitely going the way for a honest mistake. They want the golden egg to drop.
Her kid is just gonna grow up to be glued to TikTok on a phone, anyway. Which is BEYOND brain-damaging.
It was a common practice to give babies small amounts of alcohol, particularly in the Victorian era (1837-1901). Reasons for this included:
–Soothing colic and teething pain: Alcohol was believed to have sedative and analgesic effects that could soothe babies.
–Promoting sleep: Alcohol was thought to make babies drowsy and help them sleep longer.
–Treating digestive problems: Alcohol was used as a digestive aid for babies with diarrhea or vomiting.
Here are a few examples of alcohol content in cough syrups:
Vicks V44 Cough Syrup: 10% ABV
Robitussin DM: 3.5% ABV
Nyquil: 25% ABV
Sudafed with Guaifenesin: 2.4% ABV
I hope the Mom not only loses her suit, but goes broke paying her ambulance-chasing lawyers.
I rubbed whiskey on my babes gums when teething. One sip can not harm the child. Even The Holy Bibles says to drink a “little” wine for ones stomaches sake. I was raised with a tiny bit of wine at our formal dinner at home nightly for, as our parents said, its better we girls learned how to properly drink in modest portion before we came of age so we would not get drunk then and none of us ever did. I am 70 and still really do not drink. It does seem as though the mother is looking to be paid off…
Folks in 2025 over react….
As if they have not made a mistake…in their lives…
Jason you’re wrong about the McDonald’s scalding coffee incident. Victim and family only ever wanted medical bills paid. McDonald’s stalled and faught back even after acknowledgement that coffee was kept at dangerously hot temp. Victim experienced life changing injury.
And this is what’s wrong with the world today. Goodness gracious.
This is a huge overreaction on the part of the mother. She’s definitely seeking a monetary enrichment. I hope that she is having a very difficult time finding a quack doctor that is willing to state that this could cause irreparable damage to her child.
If she does take this to court, the case should be thrown out as frivolous, and she should be counter sued by Cathay Pacific for legal expenses.
I can remember my Italian grandmother/grandfather+ mother and father, letting me sip a bit of vino since I can remember
First time traveling from Brazil to USA I was served an alcoholic drink instead cranberry juice…Since I was totally unfamiliar to cranberry juice and alcoohol, I got woozy and wondering if cranberry juice was supposed to get people “dizzy”…✌
I talked to the flight attendant and she recognized she made a mistake, than apologized, and life went on, as it should be…
So sad that this is all a parent has to worry about, I pity the child’s future teachers, this is just beyond ridiculous. I feel for the poor CX flight attendants, they have enough to worry about
these days.
The part about the mother look for “pediatric specialists seeking one who will support a claim for delayed neurological, developmental, and physiological effects” tells the whole story. They are looking for a “cash cow” over a relatively minor mistake that majority of sane parents (and doctors) know will cause no lasting effects or issues.
Anyone sincerely concerned about this child’s welfare should get then away from this mother ASAP.
Maybe the flight attendant was trying to knock the little brat out. I’d have added sugar to make it less sour and told him it was grape juice. My mother would put watered-down beer in a baby bottle and my siblings and I turned out fine. Well, except for the snarkiness and sarcasm. But I’m pretty sure that is a result of adulthood experiences, like children in theaters and on airplanes.
Ah! Excuse me?! Where were the parents when all of this was going on? Were they paying attention? Mom’s not satisfied with compensation offered by the airline? Sounds like a money grab to me. IMHO!
Good grief, what an obvious attempt at a money grab.. true the airline was careless but the mother was also.. and the worry that one tiny sip of wine doing permanent medical and psychological damage seems completely absurd to me.
They just want money from the Airline! Trying to get the quick buck.
It’s encouraging to me that the majority of comments are about the parent’s behavior. The kid is fine, but likely won’t be long term with parent’s like this. For the child’s sake I really do hope this is a money grab.
I strongly believe that the mother is totally over reacting to something that she apparently is try’n to get a huge pay out which is not gonna happen because she’s going too far with crap
I’d have to think that this is not true unless the parents probably switched the cups. Definitely sounds like they are money grabbers! Frivolous law suit
So much drama and overreaction. Was this Marjorie T-G? No, she would fly to/from Asia and is too busy setting up trades each time Trump stops a tariff.
You have to be kidding me… my mom rubbed bourbon on my gums as a kid. Dad gave me a sip of his beer we had sips of wine as kids. I think your child is going to live…. it was an accident. I would have laughed and finished the glass myself.
The mom is looking for $,$$$,$$$.$$$. Crazy mom – go to HELL, Mom!!! WTF??
What a Karen!!!!
Total money grab and poor parenting. Mom…. Step up to the plate and explain to us why you weren’t watching your 3 year old. Quit blaming the airlines for your poor parenting and learn a lesson from this. Maybe it is preparing you for the future when something worse could happen. A sip of wine is NOT going to hurt your child so enough with the drama.
That’s her kid!!!! Whether payday or not what if it had been worse or allergic reaction !!! No excuse for serving alcohol to a child no excuse for attendant not paying attention! How do you know only one sip? Sound like you critics either have no kids or not good parenting !
As others have noted…this mother is looking for a payday and sounds like a major drama queen
It seems like this situation could’ve been avoided with a little more attentiveness. While we completely understand a parent’s instinct to panic, especially when it involves their child, this feels like it’s escalated into a full-blown trauma saga over what the doctor described as essentially a harmless sip—or maybe even just a whiff!
We’re all for advocating for your child’s safety, but turning this into a dramatic episode with potential million-dollar overtones might be a bit of a stretch. Let’s take a deep breath, trust the medical advice given, and maybe focus on prevention rather than a production
Good lord there’s probably more alcohol in a dose of cough syrup than a sip of wine that the child probably spat out…
Hope these grifting opportunists don’t manage to find a doctor to support this nonsense.
Good grief! It’s a sip of wine!
The mum have a mental health problems, she needs to see the doctor. And tried to claim the compensation that why and greedy woman.
Must be someone made in China
The mother is looking for a big pay day. One sip of wine will do nothing. Growing up the grandparents would have you drink tea with whiskey in it for anything from a cold to a tooth ache. I hope the airline fights on it and wins.
This is absolutely ridiculous. Not that anyone from Cathay is reading the comments, but do NOT offer this family anymore than you already have.
Do not make that flight attendant apologize again. That mom needs to have a Coke and a smile and shut the F**k up!!!