Posting on Facebook, Patrisha Organo, 24, shared the extraordinary story of her “check flight”, the final hurdle before becoming qualified aircrew, which ended in her breastfeeding a stranger’s wailing baby. The post has racked up more than 117,000 ‘likes’ and over 20,000 shares in just 24 hours.

Organo said she approached the mother, who had run out of formula for the infant, and offered to feed the baby with her own milk – usually reserved for her nine-month-old daughter – which the desperate parent gratefully accepted.

The passenger and her baby had been in the airport since 9pm on Monday, and the flight didn’t depart until 5:10am the next morning, Organo told Smart Parenting. She was flying alone with the tiny infant, who was less than 1 month old.

While the reaction to Organo’s post has been overwhelmingly positive, several commenters have labeled the mother as “irresponsible” for running out of formula and for not breastfeeding herself.