'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
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
BREAKING Hosting Vancouver's FIFA World Cup games could cost half a billion dollars
Hosting seven games in Vancouver during the 2026 FIFA World Cup could cost more than half a billion dollars, according to an updated estimate provided Tuesday.
Moe 'will respond' to CRA, insists Saskatchewan has 'paid in full' amid carbon tax audit
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says his government 'will respond' to the Canada Revenue Agency when it concludes its audit of the province, but that his position is Saskatchewan doesn't owe Ottawa any money.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.