Flight diversions are no fun for anyone, but they're especially trying for mums travelling with tired, cranky young children.
That's what happened to Haley Jefferys recently. She was heading home from Melbourne to the Central Coast with her two young kids in tow, when the evacuation of Newcastle Airport forced her flight to divert to Sydney.
With a baby, a three-year-old and a huge pile of luggage in tow, Haley said she was wondering how she'd manage on the buses organised by the airline, Jetstar, from Sydney to Newcastle.
But luckily, Haley (pictured below, on the right) was on a flight with a very caring flight attendant, Jessica Hawkins, who went beyond the call of duty to help her out.
And Haley was so moved that she took to Facebook to thank Jessica publicly.
"Once we landed in Sydney, I waited on the plane until everyone had gotten off as the kids had fallen asleep," she wrote.
"Jessica approached me and asked where I lived, and I told her the Central Coast."
Jessica suggested she catch a train, and offered to help her get there so she could get home sooner.
"She wasn't catching the train herself but she took some of my luggage and caught the train from the airport with me and the kids and then put us on the correct train at Central to get us home to the Central Coast," she wrote.
“She found us a seat on the train and placed our luggage with us before disembarking the train herself to find her way to her own family.”
The mother of two said Jessica had “no obligation to help us but went above and beyond”.
While Haley was touched by Jessica's generosity, Jessica was glad to help Haley get home.
“Being the mother of a toddler, I know how hard travelling with children can be,” she told Kidspot.
“When my son was two weeks old, we travelled to the US to meet my partner in Seattle. I had to rely on others to help me manage it, so the least I could do was offer the same to Haley on this occasion.”
You can read Haley's full post below.
