How Singapore Airlines cabin crew handled a mid-boarding emergency

Recognised at the Singapore Airlines CEO Service Excellence Awards, five cabin crew members recount how their quick thinking and teamwork helped save a 71-year-old passenger who suffered a medical emergency before take-off in Barcelona

Five Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew members – inflight manager Kueh Joo Tong, chief stewardess Serene Koh, leading steward Idris Abu, leading stewardess Jolene Lim, and flight stewardess Caitlyn Teng – were recognised at the Singapore Airlines CEO Service Excellence Awards in August for their quick thinking and extraordinary service on board a flight from Barcelona.

On Oct 13, 2025, an elderly customer on an SIA flight from Barcelona to Singapore suddenly lost consciousness and slumped in his seat, just as the aircraft was preparing for take-off.

Serene was alerted and found the 71-year-old unresponsive, with no detectable breathing or pulse.

“I was shocked,” she told The Straits Times.

“The first thing that came to my mind was to quickly get a response from him, to check if he had a spontaneous pulse and breathing.”

Despite the shock, the 48-year-old, who has worked at SIA for 26 years, immediately sprang into action.

Together with Idris, she moved the elderly man onto the floor and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), while Joo Tong quickly retrieved essential medical equipment, including an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Other cabin crew members reassured his wife and kept those on board calm, while protecting his privacy. They also identified two doctors and two trained first-aiders among the customers, who stepped in to assist.

Serene and one of the doctors took turns performing CPR. After a gruelling 20 minutes and two shocks from the AED, the man’s pulse finally returned.

He later underwent surgery to have a stent inserted into a blocked artery and, after a month of recovery in Barcelona, was able to return home to Sydney.

Being recognised at the Singapore Airlines CEO Service Excellence Awards was a meaningful honour for Serene and her fellow crew members. But for the team, their actions that day ultimately came down to something fundamental to their roles: ensuring the safety and well-being of their customers.

“It’s somebody’s grandfather, somebody’s father,” Joo Tong said in an interview with Mothership. “We were happy that we were able to help.”