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.”
Source: independent.co.uk
