An American Airlines Customer Service Manager at Miami International (MIA) has been named the airport’s Hero of the Year during the annual Rewards and Recognition awards ceremony Dec. 17. Three Transportation Security Administration employees also shared the honor as Employees of the Year.
Mohamed Badenjki is now known as Dr. Mo after performing CPR on three passengers within four days. In the first, he was called to a gate Aug. 11, where a young woman with two small children had gone into cardiac arrest. He performed CPR and made sure the children were cared for away from the emergency and then later taken to the hospital. Four days later, an elderly passenger lost consciousness, and Badenjki again performed CPR until paramedics arrived; he then called the passenger’s son in Belize and arranged for his expedited travel to Miami. Not even an hour later, he got another call that a passenger was in distress a few gates down; he once again performed CPR while waiting for paramedics. He says he learned CPR because his son was learning to swim and he thought “it would be a good thing to know.”
“Mohamed is a true hero for not only using his CPR training with these passengers, but for going far above and beyond the call of duty to show the passengers and their loved ones extreme care and compassion,” says Dickie Davis, Miami-Dade Aviation Department terminal operations and customer service division director. “We are proud to recognize him as MIA’s Hero of the Year.”
