Flight attendant goes viral for comforting a nervous passenger on a flight

A flight attendant has gone viral for his caring gesture as he sat down in the aisle to beside a nervous passenger to comfort them.

Delta flight attendant Floyd Dean-Shannon looked to reassure the passenger named Shannon who was flying on January 14 from Charlotte, North Carolina to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

When the plane began to experience turbulence, Dean-Shannon, a Delta Connection flight attendant with Delta subsidiary Endeavor Air, seeked to calm Shannon's nerves as he told her: "Hey, I have you."

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In the photo posted online, Dean-Shannon can be seen sat in the aisle while holding the passenger's hand and stayed with her for the duration of the flight.

"Check out this gem of a flight attendant that was on our flight from CLT to JFK," Molly Simonson Lee wrote, who shared the image she took on Facebook.

"This woman was so nervous about flying, so he explained every sound and bump and even sat here holding her hand when it still got to be too much for her."

A GoFundMe page has since been set up by Simonson Lee to show the Dean-Shannon some love and so far $5,209 has been raised at the time of writing.

On Facebook, the post has received over 13,000 likes, 12,000 shares and over a thousand comments praising Dean-Shannon's act of kindess.

One person said: "I need this flight attendant when I fly, as well! What a beautiful picture and moment captured. A truly compassionate man!"

"What a sweet and sincere young man!" another person wrote.

Someone else added: "OMG, this is sooo touching, I am in tears."

"Such a beautiful story. Thank you for capturing it," a fourth person commented.

"As a flight attendant, you set the tone," Floyd said, Delta's News Hub reported. "My goal is to be the best flight attendant I can be."

Dean-Shannon also recalled the moment with CNN when he noticed the passenger was "a little nervous" upon boarding.

"Before we even took off, she started sweating," he said and detailed what happened when he initially when to comfort her.

""I don't want this, I'm embarrassed," and he reassured her in his reply, "there's no need to be embarrassed, I'm here."

"We are touched by the kindness shown by this flight attendant, working on a Delta Connection flight, and proud that this humanity is displayed by our people every day,” said Delta Chief Experience Officer Allison Ausband.

“Delta and its partners are dedicated to embodying warmth and care – the Delta Difference – to ensure our customers enjoy a premium overall experience."

This heartwarming story doesn't end there, as Floyd and Dean-Shannon are now Facebook friends, so now have a lasting digital connection as a result of the sweet moment.

“She now wants me with her on every single flight,” he said.

"As a passenger, I would want to be treated the same way," the flight attendent added. "I have to remember; I was in that seat, too."

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