Narrative:

We completed water walk; movie players and our first service. As the (flight attendant D) and I pull up the cart to collect trash; two passengers in rows 20-21 stated they smell something burning. Flight attendant D and I didn't smell any so I asked the flight attendant C to be a third nose; and she didn't smell any either. As we finished picking up trash and was about to begin our 2nd service; passengers were ringing their call lights and getting our attention. We quickly went out in the cabin and that's when I started smelling the burning fumes in row 29.we immediately opened the bins and I grabbed the battery containment bag while the other fas (flight attendants) were asking passengers to double check their electronic devices. No signs of smoke. Exit row did mention that the smell was coming out of the vents. The flight attendant C called the flight deck at this moment. Flight deck turned off all electronic systems; galley oven etc. And had asked the crew if we smelled any more burning fumes to report it to them. We were 20-30 minutes to our halfway point. Fas asked pilots to make an announcement when the decision to turn around has not been made yet. Passengers were crying; having panic attacks; and holding our hands for support. Fas did a fantastic job handling the situation and made sure to everyone that we will be safe. After 15 minutes or so; flight deck finally made an announcement that we are continuing on to destination. Service resumed after the situation has calm down. Debriefed with the captain only when we landed at destination; burning smell was present after recirculating system was started again. Fas asked to move debriefing to the jetway. Fas met with inflight supervisor at the village since there was nobody there to meet the flight. Safety first!

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-800 Flight Attendant reported 'burning fumes' in the cabin that were initially detected by passengers.

Narrative: We completed water walk; movie players and our first service. As the (Flight Attendant D) and I pull up the cart to collect trash; two passengers in rows 20-21 stated they smell something burning. Flight Attendant D and I didn't smell any so I asked the Flight Attendant C to be a third nose; and she didn't smell any either. As we finished picking up trash and was about to begin our 2nd service; passengers were ringing their call lights and getting our attention. We quickly went out in the cabin and that's when I started smelling the burning fumes in row 29.We immediately opened the bins and I grabbed the battery containment bag while the other FAs (Flight Attendants) were asking passengers to double check their electronic devices. No signs of smoke. Exit row did mention that the smell was coming out of the vents. The Flight Attendant C called the Flight Deck at this moment. Flight deck turned off all electronic systems; galley oven etc. and had asked the crew if we smelled any more burning fumes to report it to them. We were 20-30 minutes to our halfway point. FAs asked pilots to make an announcement when the decision to turn around has not been made yet. Passengers were crying; having panic attacks; and holding our hands for support. FAs did a fantastic job handling the situation and made sure to everyone that we will be safe. After 15 minutes or so; flight deck finally made an announcement that we are continuing on to destination. Service resumed after the situation has calm down. Debriefed with the Captain only when we landed at destination; burning smell was present after recirculating system was started again. FAs asked to move debriefing to the jetway. FAs met with inflight Supervisor at the village since there was nobody there to meet the flight. Safety first!

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.