'So precious': Man hailed as 'flight angel' for holding hands with scared elderly passenger

A man is being called a “flight angel” for comforting a 96-year-old woman who was traveling by air for the first time in 15 years.

The kind young man was more than happy to assist his elderly seat mate after she revealed she was a nervous flyer, going on to hold her hand, speak to her calmly and help her to the bathroom.

A true gentleman

Megan Ashley was a fellow passenger on the Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Nashville on July 29, and she shared the unknown man’s touching act on Facebook.

In her post, she explained that the elderly woman - who is also unnamed - was flying to Kansas City to see her family for her birthday, but was afraid of flying.

Luckily for her, the man seated beside her was happy to help.

“She asked for this man’s hand during takeoff and then hugged him again when experiencing turbulence,” Ashley wrote.

“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,
” she added.

Going the distance

Ashely’s post explains that the man didn’t stop there. Instead, he looked out for the 96-year-old the entire duration of the flight, and even after.

“He helped her stand up to go to the restroom and watched her carefully walk down the aisle,” she wrote.

“This man was her flight angel. He held her bag, helped her get off the plane and into the wheelchair, and when she got confused wondering where her daughter went, he stayed with her until she caught up with her daughter who got separated from her.”

Ashley went on to admit that she “walked away sobbing happy tears” because she was so thankful for the man’s “heart and compassion.”

A ‘flight angel’

She wasn’t the only one touched by the stranger’s selfless act, and many people took to the comments section to thank the ‘flight angel’.

“Oh my heart. This is as precious as it gets. Thank you for taking these pictures and sharing this story,” one person wrote. “This moved me to be a better person each day. I may share this with others so they can pay it forward. The gentleman was probably just being a GENTLE-man, where others may not have been so sweet.”

Another commented “Such a heartwarming story. Thank God you witnessed this to share and warm the hearts of sooo many, especially mine! May all that goodness return to that fine man doubly and more and the people responsible for making this fine guy a true gentleman.”

“I remember flying and a 14-year-old girl reached across the aisle, took my hand and held it during takeoff,” someone else wrote. “She said everything was going to be okay. I was 28 at the time.”

Southwest Airlines did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle US’s request for comment.

Additional reporting by Mahira Dayal.

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