An IndiGo cabin crew member has shared how she massaged an elderly passenger’s legs during a flight after noticing the woman was in visible discomfort. Marking International Cabin Crew Day, flight attendant Jenifar recalled the incident in an Instagram post, saying she could not ignore the passenger’s pain.
“I just sat down to eat my meal when a lady sat across from me. I thought she’d only be there for a few minutes, but then I noticed her pressing her calves and knees, clearly in so much pain,” Jenifar said in her Instagram post, which included a clip of her massaging the woman’s legs.
‘I started massaging her legs’
Seeing the woman’s discomfort, the IndiGo flight attendant said she could not just sit and eat her meal. Instead, she offered to massage the woman’s legs.
“In that moment, everything else faded. I couldn’t just sit there and eat. I asked if I could help, and I started massaging her legs,” she wrote.
Jenifar’s video shows the woman passenger, dressed in a saree, sitting on the floor of the aircraft with her legs stretched out in front of her. The flight attendant herself is seen bending down to massage the woman’s calves and knees.
{{/usCountry}}Jenifar’s video shows the woman passenger, dressed in a saree, sitting on the floor of the aircraft with her legs stretched out in front of her. The flight attendant herself is seen bending down to massage the woman’s calves and knees.
{{/usCountry}}Jenifar said that the woman appeared grateful. “She kissed my hands and held my head in her own two hands, looking at me with pure relief…” she wrote. The IndiGo employee added that language barrier prevented her from understanding what the woman was saying.
“I wasn’t familiar with her language but the only words I could understand were “nanri” and “maa” which means thank you and little girl in Tamil if I’m not wrong,” she wrote on Instagram.
Video sparks debate
The video sparked a debate on the appropriateness of such an action by a cabin crew member, even though Jenifar clarified that it was her personal decision to help the woman.
“It was personally my decision to help her because I couldn’t see her there sitting like that. And after that something inside of me healed forever,” she said.
Even so, the post drew mixed reactions. While many praised the flight attendant's thoughtfulness, others were more skeptical.
“I don't understand, would any other cabin crew be okay doing this? And I’m talking about international,” wrote one person in the comments section, to which Jenifar replied: “Completely depends on individual I guess. Just felt like what if my mom had the same scenario, that’s all.”
“That's so kind. But as cabin crew, I think people will misunderstand this and may disrespect cabin crew,” another viewer commented.
“God bless you girl more power to you,” a third said.
(Also read: ₹1.3 lakh">Emirates cabin crew’s salary breakdown goes viral, basic salary starts from ₹1.3 lakh)