'I'll get you through this': Air Canada flight attendant comforts passenger having panic attack

An Air Canada flight attendant is being recognized for spending hours helping a passenger having a panic attack. (Supplied: Emerson Leander)

An Air Canada flight attendant is being praised for spending hours comforting a passenger who was having a panic attack on a flight to Europe.

Vancouver woman Celeste Leander was flying from Toronto to Vienna on July 6 when the woman in the row ahead of her began to feel uneasy.

"It started when even before we were taxiing," Leander told CTV News Toronto. "The passenger clearly knew she was very nervous to fly and started talking to the flight attendants."

Leander said initially the flight attendants just checked in with the woman, but then she started to become more anxious.

"That's when the flight attendant came over and sat down and said 'I'll get you through this, it's going to be okay,' and started holding her hand and breathed with her," she said.

"For a long time she sat with her. She was just really amazing and it was just a heartfelt moment."

The flight attendant then returned to sit with the passenger when the plane was landing, Leander said.

Leander posted a photo of the flight attendant on Twitter, saying she deserved to be awarded by the airline. That tweet has since been viewed more than 650,000 times.

The flight attendant in the photo responded to Leander’s tweet saying she didn’t realize she was being observed, but is thankful her actions were acknowledged.

"I was raised by one of the kindest women to ever grace this earth and so I did what she taught me to do for the last 52 years," Loridana Nasso wrote. "At the end of the day, it's my job to do what I did."

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Air Canada said they are proud of Nasso’s actions and that "what occurred on this flight exemplifies the empathy and professionalism qualities that we value in our crew members."