Mum thanks 'amazing' TUI cabin crew manager who jumped into action when she had seizure during flight

A Scottish mum has paid tribute to an "amazing" cabin crew manager from Whitley Bay who looked after her and her son when she suffered a terrifying seizure during a Iong-haul flight.

At the beginning of the month, Gillian Hanna, 44, was travelling back from Mexico to Glasgow on a TUI flight with son Sam, 18. Gillian has a neurological condition called Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) that can lead to seizures.

This happened towards the end of her journey - but cabin manager Emma Gailes and her team jumped into action and kept her safe and supported Sam. Gillian said the staff - and in particular Emma - had gone "above and beyond" from the moment she had informed them at the start of the flight that she might fall ill.

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Gillian, who lives in East Kilbride, said she and Sam wanted to ensure Emma knew how incredible her work had been. She told ChronicleLive: "It was Saturday into Sunday. We had a couple of hours left before landing. I have a neurological disorder so I can take ill with seizures. It was just me and my son flying so I told the airline staff that this could be the case - I could take ill.

"Fortunately the cabin manager was brilliant. She was really interested, asking how she could help, how she would know I was unwell, she even showed me a safe space they could get me to at the back of the plane. I felt so reassured even before taking ill."

Frighteningly, Gillian did become ill towards the end of the flight - but Emma looked after her throughout her seizure, while her team looked after Sam too. Gillian added: "We really want Emma to know we have praised her. Everyone is so quick to complain when something goes wrong. Even when I went to speak to her at the start of the flight Emma was dealing with someone who had an issue!

"It was totally above and beyond. They were well-prepared and would have even diverted the plane - as if I go out for more than 10 minutes I need to get to hospital. They were so switched on and aware it could easily be an emergency. After an hour I was able to go back to my seat and it was all ok."

Gillian added that it was often easy for people to criticise airline staff - but that it seemed harder to find ways to praise them. She added that her experience on the flight had not been replicated elsewhere in the three years since her diagnosis and she said one shop-keeper had even asked her parents to "move her" when she suffered a seizure in a Glasgow shop.

She continued: "Emma was amazing and the whole team were, too. .They were all incredible, but Emma in particular. She didn't take a break all flight, I think because she wanted to be on hand if I took ill, and I'd just love to be able to speak to her.

"It's scary when you are taking a seizure. It was a scary experience but thanks to Emma it was okay - and I really want her to know how amazing she was. If my experience had been diffferent it could have put me off flying, but it hasn't, thanls to Emma and the team."

ChronicleLive was able to approach TUI to speak to Emma, who has previously spoken about her tips for flying safely with youngsters, and has worked for the firm for more than two decades.

Emma said Gillian herself was an inspiration. She added: "As cabin crew we are trained to deal with onboard situations like this as every year we sit our SEP Exams - Safety and Emergency Procedures. In-flight medical care is a major part of our job. We also discuss our safety procedures, including inflight medical scenarios before every flight.

"I was delighted to meet Gillian and her son on the inbound Cancun flight despite it being an unfortunate situation. Gillian told me a lot about her condition and how she deals with it, she is quite the inspiration. Making Gillian safe and comfortable during and after her seizure was our top priority.

"All of the crew were fast thinking and helpful, remaining calm and extremely professional, whilst also proactively dealing with our other onboard customer services. I am very proud of how the situation was handled by all of the amazing cabin crew onboard. A great team!

"The fact that Gillian and her son have gone to such efforts to Thank us all at TUI means the world to all of us involved."