A three-year-old boy was accidentally served a glass of white wine while flying business class with his parents on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to London, last April, prompting an outcry and an internal investigation.
After taking a sip of what he believed to be water, the little boy complained to his father, Mr Tsui that the drink ‘tasted sour’. Upon tasting it himself, the father realised it was white wine. The crew were alerted, immediately apologised and replaced the drink with actual water.
Mrs Wong, visibly distressed, took the matter to the senior flight attendant who consulted the in-flight Medlink medical service and located a French doctor on the same flight. The doctor examined the child and confirmed he showed no signs of distress or alcohol poisoning, such as vomiting, dizziness or fainting. To reassure the mother, she added that in France, children as young as five are sometimes allowed to consume small amounts of alcohol.
Still, Mrs Wong expressed concerns about potential long-term neurological or developmental effects. ‘We understand that alcohol consumption in young children can have delayed impacts,’ she later wrote on Chinese social media platform Rednote. She added that they were arranging follow-up assessments with paediatric specialists.
She did not stop at online complaints. Mrs Wong filed reports with Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department, the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, the Consumer Council, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
On April 24, 2025, a 3-year-old boy in business class on #CathayPacific flight #CX255 from #HongKong to #London was accidentally served white wine instead of water by a flight attendant.
— FlightMode (@FlightModeblog) May 10, 2025
📷 ©️Cathay Pacific | RedNote#alcohol #aviation #avgeek #avgeeks #flights #travel #wine pic.twitter.com/1ZgvVhOH57
Cathay Pacific issued a formal apology via email, offering the family a full refund for the child’s ticket, reimbursement of medical expenses, and three first-class upgrade vouchers. The airline said it was reinforcing staff training to avoid such incidents. ‘We take this matter very seriously,’ the statement read. ‘Our crew responded with medical consultation and monitored the child throughout the flight.’
Still, Mrs Wong remained unsatisfied. ‘There was a lack of care. They gave the impression they were trying to shirk responsibility,’ she said. Her husband added that they went public to raise awareness. ‘If a flagship Asian carrier can miss such basic safeguards in business class, every travelling family is at risk.’
Dr Herbert Kwok Wang-Chun of the Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association confirmed that a small sip was unlikely to cause harm, but shared the mother’s concern about caution.
The advantage of flying coach…
A Cathay flight purser, who wished to remain anonymous, said such mistakes could happen and were more likely in business than in coach. ‘I can say almost 99% of this kind of mistake happened in business class. Drinks are served on trays without markings. Many new crew don’t follow protocols like marking drinks or smelling them,’ she said. ‘In economy, drinks are served one passenger at a time in paper cups – errors are less likely.’
She also blamed rapid recruitment: ‘It used to take years to be promoted to purser. Now, some get there in two.’
More than two weeks after the incident, the parents, both aged 35, had not yet sought a medical check-up for their son, according to local media. The boy remained in good health.
