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An Indian-origin steward for the Singapore Airlines (SIA) received the a Service Excellence Award on Monday for his efforts in reviving a cab driver after the latter suffered a heart attack last year.
As per reports, Venoth Balasubramaniam received the award along with 69 individuals and teams at the Singaporean national carrier’s annual award ceremony. The 34-year-old steward was on his way to the Changi Airport to a board a flight to London when his driver let out a loud groan and slumped to his seat in November 2022.
After this, Balasubramaniam pulled the car’s handbrake to stop the vehicle, switched on the hazard lights and dialed an emergency number. Using his first-aid training at SIA and his experience at the Changi General Hospital as a care ambassador during the COVID-19 pandemic, he performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and managed to revive the unconscious driver.
This act won him praise at the SIA award ceremony on Monday, along with his work in the airlines. “When I returned from London, the driver’s wife called me to thank me, but that was when she told me that he had died,” he said.
Balasubramaniam said that he managed to make it in time to the airport that day and that he was still in touch with the driver’s family. He has worked in SIA for over 10 years, and was lauded for his ability to remember and greet passengers by name without checking their boarding passes.
“I feel I have a role to play in upholding the reputation of the airline,” he said, adding that the award would motivate him to work harder and set an example for future crew members.
(with PTI inputs)
