Southwest Airlines says that it empowers its employees to make important decisions on the spot. (Photo: AP)

Southwest Airlines went above and beyond the call of duty to rush a woman home to her ill son earlier this month.

Right before her flight took off from Chicago to Columbus, Southwest Airline employees found passenger Peggy Uhle to alert her to upsetting news.

According to local news reports from the CBS station 21 News in Harrisburg customer service representatives told Ms. Uhle to call her husband. Her phone had been switched off while she was on the plane. Her husband informed her that their 24-year-old son was in a coma in Denver.

A spokesperson for Southwest informed 21 News that the airline rebooked her on a new flight home directly to Denver free of charge.

Related: Don’t Let Your Airline Miles Expire—Here’s How Without Flying

“The gate attendant already knew the situation and had booked me on a direct flight to Denver that was leaving the next two hours,” Uhle told the travel blog BoardingArea.com.

Uhle went on to explain the airline’s kindness. “They offered a private waiting area, rerouted my luggage, allowed me to board first, and packed a lunch for when I got off the plane in Denver. My luggage was delivered to where I was staying, and I even received a call from Southwest asking how my son was doing. Southwest never asked for payment for the Denver flight, luggage delivery or anything else,” she concluded. “The care that I was shown is second to none. We have always liked Southwest Airlines and now we can’t say enough good things about them.”

Her son is currently recovering from a traumatic brain condition.

Let Yahoo Travel inspire you every day. Hang out with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Check out our original adventure travel series A Broad Abroad.