SINGAPORE – It was past 1am on Aug 4, 2025, when Ms Pham Quyen Tran helped a distressed mother comb through the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 3 for more than 45 minutes to track down her disoriented teenage daughter.
Ms Pham, a sales executive at duty-free store Shilla Travel Retail, had received an urgent call earlier to assist a mother-and-daughter pair who looked overwhelmed at the foodcourt. A colleague on a break in the area had called her.
Relief washed over the mother’s face when Ms Pham spoke to her in Vietnamese, leading her to share more about her daughter’s severe depression. At that point, her 17-year-old daughter was completely unresponsive and unable to stand upright.
Ms Pham helped them buy some food and brought the duo, who were on a lengthy 14-hour layover, to a quiet area to rest.
The grateful mother declined her offer to put the duo up at the airport hotel. But less than an hour later, the 29-year-old received another call from the same colleague saying the daughter had gone missing.
She ran out of the store immediately, searching every toilet cubicle in the vicinity and alerting the airport police.
With the help of other ground staff, they located the daughter at one of the boarding gates. She was standing completely still and became agitated whenever someone approached her, even screaming when her mother tried to hug her.
Ms Pham Quyen Tran, a sales executive with Shilla Travel Retail, received the Service Personality Of The Year award at the Annual Airport Celebration 2026, held at Resorts World Sentosa Convention Centre on Feb 11.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Ms Pham then slowly coaxed the daughter into calming down while consoling the trembling mother, who broke down in tears, before an ambulance took them to hospital.
She was presented with the Service Personality Of The Year award by Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow at Changi Airport’s Annual Airport Celebration held at the Resorts World Convention Centre on Feb 11.
Ms Pham, who was among 13 award recipients, also received $5,000 worth of Changi Airport e-vouchers.
Crediting her with setting an example for the rest of the airport, Changi Airport Group (CAG) chief executive Yam Kum Weng said Ms Pham provided empathetic support to the mother-daughter duo by staying in contact with the mother, even after the mother’s 30-day visa-free stay came to an end.
As the daughter was hospitalised at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for another two weeks after her mother returned to Vietnam, Ms Pham went above and beyond to translate messages between the mother and the daughter’s social worker, even scheduling video calls for them to communicate regularly.
She was given a written letter of commendation by IMH for her help in the incident.
When asked why she had done so much for the pair, Ms Pham said: “My colleague (first) called me because she knew that I would help them. And in her heart, she also felt the need to help them.
“So I just did it – I didn’t think much about it.”
The Outstanding Service Team Of The Year award went to Changi experience ambassador Li Xue, Changi experience executive Gerlie Mae Lumucho Ong, CAG duty terminal manager Dushantha Upul Baduge and duty manager Remi Wee from ground handler SATS. They received a total of $5,000 in Changi e-vouchers.
The team helped a family whose five-year-old son was struck by a stranger in the transit area of Terminal 1, de-escalating tension and helping them seek recourse by filing a report with the airport police.
Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow speaking at the Annual Airport Celebration 2026 at Resorts World Sentosa Convention Centre on Feb 11.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Over the course of two days, they provided the family with emotional support, ensured the grandparents and unaffected children could return to the Philippines on their original flight, and rebooked the parents and distressed child on a flight the next day.
The stranger was given a stern warning by the airport police.
Commending the team in his speech for helping the family, Mr Siow said: “When something happens, we take ownership, we respond quickly and we look after our customers with care.”
Mr Siow also spoke about the airport’s preparations for the future, with the upcoming Terminal 5 and its investments in new technologies such as autonomous vehicles, as well as efforts to help workers upskill to take on emerging roles.
On staff welfare initiatives, CAG’s Mr Yam said the airport operator completed upgrades in January to airside staff lounges located beyond passport control.
One of its airside staff toilets will be refurbished with showers by April, and all 36 airside staff toilets will be progressively expanded and rebuilt, he added.
Certis Aviation Security took the award for Service Partner Of The Year at the event, in recognition of its efforts in training its staff and improving operational efficiency.