The wonderful story of Ms. A. Singh, head of cabin crew on AI 667 from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, 4 March.
‘ The flight was late, and the delay did nothing to make me think better of Air India. I wish I had taken the Indigo, which is a couple of hours later.
Finally, we board. I’m one of the last to board as I have no cabin baggage and I have an aisle seat. Seat 8D.
I quickly scan the passengers seated next to me, in front of me and behind me and I notice row 7. Occupying row 7 A, B, C and D is a family of four. A young girl, around 5 years old, I would guess, occupies the window seat at 7A, her mother is seated in 7B. In 7C is a young boy, about 10 years old. It’s apparent that he’s mentally challenged. The father is across the aisle from the son.
The flight takes off. Every now and then, the boy yells. Loud. The parents, seated on either side of him, soothe him and calm him down.
It’s time for the lunch to be served. The head of the cabin crew, Ms. A. Singh, (I stared at her name tag as we disembarked) served the family. No sooner had the mother taken the aluminium foil off her son’s hot rice than he sent the tray flying, spraying rice across the aisle.
Ms. Singh rushed to the boy — only to check that he was OK. She calmed him down. Next, she told her colleague to carry on with the service. Ms. Singh then quickly brought another meal for the boy. One could see the gratitude in the eyes of both parents.
Ms. Singh, who I would imagine is in her 40s, then proceeded to clean up the rice in the aisle; she was on all fours and using just napkins to deal with the mess. It took her both time and effort, but she carried on till it was done.
After that, it was business as usual for Ms. Singh.
She kept checking that the boy was okay in between the work routine.
The flight done, I walked up to her and told her that what she did was fantastic.
Her reply? “It was nothing. Imagine what the boy is going through.”‘
Why do I post this? Because Ms. Singh needs to know that she is appreciated. Will someone who knows someone who knows someone in Air India makes sure she gets the message?
The Original Post Appeared Here : Anant Rangaswami
