Singapore Airlines Crew Lauded for Life-Saving Efforts on Passenger

POLICY WIRE — Singapore, Singapore — Singapore Airlines has recognized three cabin crew members for their exceptional actions in reviving a 71-year-old passenger who experienced cardiac arrest just before a flight from Barcelona to Singapore was set to depart.

Chief stewardess Serene Koh, leading steward Idris Abu, and inflight manager Kueh Joo Tong were honored at the airline’s CEO Service Excellence Awards ceremony held in Singapore on Friday.

The critical incident occurred on October 13, 2025. Koh discovered the elderly man unconscious, without a pulse, and not breathing. She and Abu immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the aircraft floor.

Kueh was summoned to retrieve medical equipment, including an automated external defibrillator (AED). Two doctors and two trained first-aiders among the passengers joined the crew in the resuscitation efforts.

The team performed CPR and administered two shocks from the AED, successfully restoring the passenger’s pulse after approximately 20 minutes.

Koh recalled the urgency of the situation, stating, ‘I was shocked, and my immediate thought was to quickly check if he had a spontaneous pulse and breathing.’ She also mentioned the emotional plea from the passenger’s wife, who was desperately asking the crew to save her husband.

Kueh, with 34 years at Singapore Airlines, emphasized the importance of annual training, saying, ‘We went for training every year to be ready for these situations, and it paid off.’ This was the first such emergency for Kueh, whereas Koh had performed CPR twice before in her 26-year career.

After regaining a pulse, the passenger remained unconscious but was breathing. He was then taken to a Barcelona hospital for surgery, where a stent was inserted to restore blood flow to his heart. He spent about a month recovering in Barcelona before returning home to Sydney, Australia.

The medical emergency caused a one-hour delay in the flight’s departure, but it still arrived in Singapore on time.

Koh and Kueh were informed a month later that the passenger had suffered from an arrhythmia, leading to the cardiac arrest. Kueh expressed his satisfaction, stating, ‘it is somebody’s grandfather, somebody’s father. I’m happy that we were able to help.’

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)