Young man is hailed a ‘flight angel’ for comforting a nervous 96-year-old during plane trip

Young man is hailed a ‘flight angel’ for comforting nervous 96-year-old during a cross-country plane trip to visit her family – holding the elderly stranger’s hand during takeoff and hugging her during turbulence

  • A 96-year-old woman named Virginia took her first plane trip in 15 years last Monday in order to visit family
  • The elderly lady was nervous about the four-hour flight from San Diego to Nashville, and was comforted by the young man sitting next to her
  • The stranger, known only as Ben, held the woman’s hand during take-off, hugged her during turbulence and helped with her bags
  • His kind actions were witnessed by another passenger, who took to Facebook to share the heartwarming story  
  • Do you know the young man and the elderly woman in this story? E-mail andrew.court@mailonline.com 

A young man has been hailed a hero after he was photographed supporting a 96-year-old woman on a four-hour plane ride from San Diego to Nashville. 

The man just happened to be seated next to the elderly stranger on the cross-country flight last Monday, and he helped to clam her nerves throughout the trip. 

The kindness was witnessed by a fellow passenger on board the Southwest flight, who took to Facebook to share the story. 

Beneath a heartwarming picture of the lady holding hands with the young man, passenger Megan Schofield wrote: ‘Sitting in the row next to me was a 96-year-old woman who hasn’t flown in 15 years. 

‘For her birthday she wanted to go to Kansas City to see her family but she was scared of flying. She asked for this man’s hand during takeoff and then hugged him again when experiencing turbulence.’

She continued: ‘This gentleman I should say, gladly took her hand, let her hold onto him, calmed her by talking to her and explaining everything that was happening, and simply was that stranger there for her.’

A young man has been hailed a hero after he was photographed supporting a 96-year-old woman on a four-hour plane ride from San Diego to Nashville

Schofield went on to say that the man helped the woman out of her seat and watched her walk down the aisle when she went to the bathroom. 

He also helped her with her carry-on luggage and assisted her off the plane at the end of the flight. 

‘This man was her flight angel,’ Schofield wrote. 

‘I walked away sobbing happy tears being so thankful for people like this wonderful human. She [the elderly woman] was so grateful… Hats off to you sir, for your kind heart and your compassion toward someone whom you’ve never met. This truly made my week’.

Schofield’s post has since gone viral, having been liked more than 130,000 times. 

More than 74,000 people have additionally shared the story to their own Facebook accounts. 

Schofield's post has since gone viral, having been liked more than 130,000 times

Schofield’s post has since gone viral, having been liked more than 130,000 times

The man has only been identified as ‘Ben’, but Schofield told KSHB that he had e-mailed saying he was happy that his selfless actions had made others smile. 

Schofield says the elderly woman’s name is Virginia, but she hasn’t hasn’t spoken publicly about her plane trip. 

Meanwhile, dozens of people left comments beneath Schofield’s post, heartened by the happy story amidst relentless bad news. 

‘Truly one of the best stories I’ve read in a very long time. Thank you for sharing sweetie,’ one wrote. 

Another wrote: ‘It’s so nice to see there are still good people in this world. So many people need to take a page from his book and do the same. Being kind is not difficult.’

Dozens of people left comments beneath Schofield's post, heartened by the happy story amidst relentless bad news

Dozens of people left comments beneath Schofield’s post, heartened by the happy story amidst relentless bad news

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