Air Canada flight attendant comforts woman through panic attack on flight from Toronto

In the midst of all the travel horror stories you read about online or personally experience, it's rare you come across a heartwarming story that restores your faith in humanity. 

One recent heartfelt tale involves a compassionate flight attendant on board an Air Canada flight from Toronto Pearson Airport to Zurich. 

According to a viral tweet — which has since amassed over 650k views and 12k likes — one woman on the flight was experiencing a full panic attack before the aircraft started to taxi. 

The flight attendant is pictured sitting beside the passenger, holding her hand and attentively listening to her concerns.

Overnight flight from YYZ to Zurich. Woman in front of us - full panic attack before we started to taxi.

Flight attendant sat with her for hours. Held her hand, told her exactly what was happening. (“We’re turning left”). I didn’t get her name but she deserves a 🏅 @AirCanada pic.twitter.com/9ENEorxTcS

— Celeste Leander (@cleander) July 8, 2023

According to the tweet, the flight attendant graciously and patiently sat with the woman for hours, comforted her, and explained all the motions of the plane. 

The original poster said that other attendants on the plane would also check on the distressed passenger and entertain her with stories to keep her distracted throughout the eight-hour flight. 

I feel the love in this picture. It’s making me cry. Beautiful soul.

— mama3🇨🇦🌻🇺🇦🌻🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ (@thjustme81) July 9, 2023

The viral interaction resulted in hundreds of responses, with people sharing similar experiences and commending the flight attendant for her unwavering patience. 

I'm someone who once had a full on panic attack on a plane and this is so incredibly kind and helpful. Especially the explaining of what's going on.

— @coolnameliz (@coolnameliz1) July 9, 2023

"She deserves a raise," several people wrote. 

"I've had something very similar happen before, and the flight attendants and my seatmates were simply amazing in their kindness," a comment reads. 

Metals to her co-workers too who probably had an extra workload so this attendant could help this person. Well done everyone!

— Janice Green (@jgreen0751) July 9, 2023

"Thank you for highlighting the helper without also exploiting the person struggling, publicly," a comment reads. 

I witnessed this on an AC flight. Hong Kong to Toronto. The flight attendant was truly fabulous. He took it all in stride and was so comforting to the passenger. Told her not to worry that he’d help her feel better. Gave her oxygen, reassured her. I was so impressed. It worked.

— Benny (@LidaLind) July 9, 2023

"I doubt that most people have personally experienced the horror of full on panic," another response says. "The flight attendant does indeed deserve a medal."