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“The Entire Plane Was Seated And Waiting”: Airline Helps Woman Get To Her Terminally Ill Mother
From experience of communicating with large companies, one often comes to the conclusion that they are just heartless machines for squeezing out profits, to whom all human feelings are almost alien. Sometimes, this is true, but still, first and foremost, people work for these companies. And surely they all have human feelings.
The story we’re going to tell you today began with a very sad circumstance—the author’s mother was dying, and the daughter flew across the whole country to see her for the last time. But, the way almost all of the participants in this story behaved really restored our faith in humanity.
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The author of the post recently had to fly across the whole country to see her terminally ill mom for the last time
Image credits: untanglegrief
The mother had surgery and was doing well—but then her body went into septic shock
Image credits: untanglegrief
Image credits: Chris Flaten / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The author flew from Dallas with a connection in Minneapolis, but her flight was delayed due to technical issues
Image credits: untanglegrief
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The author was afraid she could miss her connecting flight, and the cabin crew decided to help her
Image credits: untanglegrief
Image credits: Curated Lifestyle / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The pilot called the pilot of the connecting flight in Minneapolis and asked them to wait for the author
Image credits: untanglegrief
Image credits: untanglegrief
The passengers let the author sit in first class so she could get off the first flight and run to her gate
Image credits: untanglegrief
The author finally made it and had 24 extra hours with her mom before she passed away
This story happened recently when the mother of the Original Poster (OP) was hospitalized with undiagnosed pneumonia and had surgery, and then, alas, went into septic shock. Our heroine got a call from her brother, who said that their mom could pass away at any moment, so the woman immediately rushed to the airport.
She took the next Delta Airlines flight from Dallas with a connection in Minneapolis, but the flight was delayed for an hour due to technical problems. As a result, already on the way, our heroine realized that she had little chance of making it to the connecting flight in Minneapolis. The OP was so upset that the flight attendant approached her and asked how she could help.
Our heroine, in tears, explained the situation and the cabin crew tried to help. The pilot of their flight contacted the pilot of the plane in Minneapolis and asked him to wait for the author. She was transferred to business class so she could get off the plane first, and one of the passengers took out an airport map to show her where the right gate was.
Finally, the plane landed, and our heroine rushed to the gate—and she made it! It turned out that the plane had been waiting for her for 30 minutes and seeing her on board, the staff welcomed her warmly. The pilot later shook her hand and wished her luck, saying that they would all pray for her.
The next day, the OP’s mom passed away, and the daughter, thanks to simple human kindness, was able to spend the last 24 hours with her to say “Goodbye!” one last time.
Image credits: untanglegrief
Experts say that many airlines actually have a special system in place to wait for late passengers so that they can make it to the connecting flight. For example, View From The Wing explains that many flights are actually projected to arrive early, so a small delay only means that the plane will arrive at its destination on time.
In addition, if it’s the last flight of the day, it can also be delayed because, in this case, it will mean a guaranteed overnight for passengers. Thus, it will be much easier for the airline to wait for a late passenger for up to half an hour than to arrange their overnighting. However, this doesn’t change the fact that both the cabin crew and the passengers behaved extremely nobly here.
People in the comments also praised the airline for being so kind for helping people. Some commenters also recalled similar situations from their life experience—and, sometimes, people around them did their best to help them. In addition, responders expressed sincere condolences to the author on the death of her mother.
People are glad that in the modern world, where there is often not enough time for ordinary human warmth, there is still room for noble deeds. “Faith in humanity restored,” someone aptly noted in the comments. And have you, our dear readers, ever encountered a similar situation? Please feel free to share your stories in the comments below the post.
People in the comments praised both the passengers and the cabin crew, claiming that they all did a very noble deed
What do you think ?
ThisIsMe 4 hours ago
I'm glad this worked out for her. When my mother was in hospice, I was told that she had maybe 24 hours to live. My husband was in Alaska at the time (we live in Tennessee) at the time for work. My mom and husband were very close. He went immediately to the airport to get a flight home, but was told there weren't any options to get him on a flight that day unless he had a death certificate. We offered phone numbers to call to verify his story, but the agents held firm. It was another 24 hours before someone with common sense put him on a flight hoping he would get to say goodbye. He did not - she passed before his plane ever took off.
Janelle Collard 6 hours ago
See? Kind people DO exist! So sorry for your loss, OP, but glad you got to be with your mom.
Lee Gilliland 3 hours ago
When my sister died, I couldn't stop crying. The woman next to me tenderly played mom, Seattle to Buffalo. I m never got her name, but I want to thank her.
ThisIsMe 4 hours ago
I'm glad this worked out for her. When my mother was in hospice, I was told that she had maybe 24 hours to live. My husband was in Alaska at the time (we live in Tennessee) at the time for work. My mom and husband were very close. He went immediately to the airport to get a flight home, but was told there weren't any options to get him on a flight that day unless he had a death certificate. We offered phone numbers to call to verify his story, but the agents held firm. It was another 24 hours before someone with common sense put him on a flight hoping he would get to say goodbye. He did not - she passed before his plane ever took off.
Janelle Collard 6 hours ago
See? Kind people DO exist! So sorry for your loss, OP, but glad you got to be with your mom.
Lee Gilliland 3 hours ago
When my sister died, I couldn't stop crying. The woman next to me tenderly played mom, Seattle to Buffalo. I m never got her name, but I want to thank her.
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