A major international airline has issued a formal apology after a three-year-old boy was mistakenly served white wine instead of water aboard a Cathay Pacific flight to London.

The incident occurred on April 24 during flight CX255 from Hong Kong to London, with the young boy seated in business class alongside his parents. According to the boy’s mother, surnamed Wong, the mix-up was only discovered when the child complained that his "water" tasted sour, prompting his parents to take a sip and realise he had been served alcohol. Wong, who later shared the story on Chinese social media platform RedNote, told the South China Morning Post that Cathay Pacific had failed to fully explain how the mistake happened or what steps it was taking to prevent a repeat.