Explainer | How did 3-year-old boy on Cathay flight from Hong Kong get served wine?

The Post explores how easily a mix-up of drinks can happen during flights and outlines the steps passengers can take to protect themselves from accidentally eating food that may affect their health.

1. What happened on the flight?

A family of three boarded Cathay flight 255 from Hong Kong to London on the night of April 24, with each of them occupying a business class seat: the boy by the window and his father next to him in the aisle. A crew member mistakenly served the boy a glass of wine instead of water that he ordered.

The boy took a sip and said the water was too sour. Another crew member apologised and replaced the drink, but the parents escalated the matter to a senior crew member, who then paged a French doctor on board. The doctor told the parents the boy would be fine, adding that children as young as five could take alcohol in her country.

The senior crew member also sought ground-based medical advice via the in-flight Medlink service. No further advice was provided except to give the boy more water and monitor him. The child has not reported any discomfort or sickness.

The carrier offered to refund the child’s ticket with three one-class upgrade vouchers and cover the costs of any incident-related medical check-ups. But the parents were not satisfied, expressing concern over whether the sip of alcohol would result in long-term health issues for the boy.