'I'll get you through this': Air Canada flight attendant comforts passenger having panic attack
An Air Canada flight attendant is being praised for spending hours comforting a passenger who was having a panic attack on a flight to Europe.
Vancouver woman Celeste Leander was flying from Toronto to Vienna on July 6 when the woman in the row ahead of her began to feel uneasy.
"It started when even before we were taxiing," Leander told CTV News Toronto. "The passenger clearly knew she was very nervous to fly and started talking to the flight attendants."
Leander said initially the flight attendants just checked in with the woman, but then she started to become more anxious.
"That's when the flight attendant came over and sat down and said 'I'll get you through this, it's going to be okay,' and started holding her hand and breathed with her," she said.
"For a long time she sat with her. She was just really amazing and it was just a heartfelt moment."
The flight attendant then returned to sit with the passenger when the plane was landing, Leander said.
Leander posted a photo of the flight attendant on Twitter, saying she deserved to be awarded by the airline. That tweet has since been viewed more than 650,000 times.
The flight attendant in the photo responded to Leander’s tweet saying she didn’t realize she was being observed, but is thankful her actions were acknowledged.
"I was raised by one of the kindest women to ever grace this earth and so I did what she taught me to do for the last 52 years," Loridana Nasso wrote. "At the end of the day, it's my job to do what I did."
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Air Canada said they are proud of Nasso’s actions and that "what occurred on this flight exemplifies the empathy and professionalism qualities that we value in our crew members."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
Conservative MP says Chinese hacking attack targeted his personal email
A Conservative MP is challenging claims by House of Commons administration that a China-backed hacking attempt did not impact any members of Parliament, because the attack was on his personal email.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
President Joe Biden calls Japan and India 'xenophobic' nations that do not welcome immigrants
President Joe Biden has called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the four with the U.S. on immigration.