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Airline Passenger Comforts Frightened 96-Year-Old Woman

An unidentified young man is being praised as a “flight angel” after comforting a 96-year-old woman who was nervous about flying by herself for the first time in 15 years. The young man was seated next to the elderly woman, whom he didn’t know, on a Southwest Airlines flight.

According to nearby passenger Megan Ashley, who posted photos of the pair on Facebook, the 96-year-old explained she was going to Kansas City for her birthday to visit her family, but was “scared of flying.”

Ashley said, “She asked for this man’s hand during takeoff and then hugged him again when experiencing turbulence. This gentleman gladly took her hand, let her hold onto him, calmed her by talking to her, and explaining everything that was happening. He was simply there for her. He knew just what to do the entire flight to help.”

She also said that the man went above and beyond even after the flight: He held her bag, helped her get off the plane, and into the wheelchair. When she got confused wondering where her daughter went (whom she called “her sister”), he stayed with her until she caught up with her daughter who got separated from her. This man was her flight angel.

Ashley said she walked away from the flight “sobbing happy tears” at the man’s selfless actions. She wrote in the caption, “Hats off to you sir, for your kind heart and your compassion toward someone whom you’ve never met.”

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