SIA stewardess lends her own pants to elderly passenger who soiled herself mid-flight
Esther Loi
The Straits Times
Oct 29, 2025
While making her rounds on a red-eye flight bound for Singapore from Tokyo, Ms Libby Lim came across a passenger looking helpless outside the toilets in the business class cabin.
Ms Lim, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) leading stewardess, approached the elderly woman to ask her what had happened, and was told - in hushed whispers - that the passenger had soiled herself.
The stewardess then stepped forward to lend a hand, even though she was assigned to serve economy class passengers on that flight. She thought it would be better to solve the problem quietly before telling her colleagues about it.
She immediately offered the elderly passenger a fresh pair of trousers from her own set of spare clothes, and promptly cleaned up the soiled seat.
"From a female perspective, I understood how she felt because she wanted us to help her discreetly. So most importantly, we have to respect what she wants... and protect her dignity," Ms Lim, a stewardess of 10 years, told The Straits Times.
On Oct 29, the 34-year-old was among 86 individuals and teams recognised at the annual SIA CEO Service Excellence Awards ceremony held at JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach.
Having looked after patients as a care ambassador at the dementia ward in Tan Tock Seng Hospital when the Covid-19 pandemic crippled the aviation industry, Ms Lim noticed that the elderly woman was displaying some signs of dementia.
She acceded to the passenger's request to not alert her husband about the situation, and was careful to be discreet throughout the entire clean-up operation to avoid upsetting the passenger.
"When you soil yourself, you don't want the whole world to know. I just wanted to ensure her comfort and make her feel better," Ms Lim said.
She also personally washed the passenger's soiled pants and returned them to her at the end of the flight.
SIA premium services manager Bryan Lo and passenger relations officer Shahfiee Sirajuddin were also recognised at the ceremony.
Mr Lo has been with the airline for a year, and Mr Shahfiee for two.
In February, Mr Lo, 28, and Mr Shahfiee, 36, assisted a wheelchair user in his 80s who had an upset stomach and soiled his clothes after disembarking from his flight at Changi Airport Terminal 3.
They had received an e-mail earlier in the day from their colleagues in Bali, Indonesia, about this particular business class passenger who was experiencing stomach discomfort.
The situation had worsened by the time the passenger arrived at Changi Airport.
Noticing the smell from the soiled clothing, Mr Lo and Mr Shahfiee quickly escorted the man to the wheelchair-friendly shower room in the airline's business class lounge.
As the elderly man was travelling alone and had mobility issues, Mr Shahfiee - a former air steward of five years with SIA's now-defunct subsidiary SilkAir - used wet wipes to clean him up.
Mr Shahfiee, together with the duty team at the lounge, then prepared a fresh set of sleepwear and slippers for the passenger to change into, as well as adult diapers and wet wipes as standby for his next flight to Los Angeles, the US.
Mr Lo and Mr Shahfiee also reserved a meeting room for the elderly passenger to rest in privacy and comfort, and were relieved to see that he began smiling then.
"He thanked us again and again for taking care of him, and for making sure that he was not stranded in the airport," said Mr Lo.
"Because being a wheelchair-bound passenger can be quite stressful, especially when transiting through Changi Airport... We took this matter very seriously, as we didn't want him to experience any inconvenience."
