Delta flight attendant goes viral comforting scared passenger in touching photo

A flight attendant is receiving online recognition after a heartwarming act of kindness towards a nervous passenger aboard a recent Delta Airlines flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to New York (JFK).

Molly Simonson Lee, of Raleigh, recalled being one of the fliers with aerophobia on that flight but not nearly as scared as a passenger in front of her, who was comforted by cabin crew member Floyd Dean-Shannon after he overheard her crying.

A touching photo of the gesture has since gone viral, showing the Delta flight attendant sitting next to the woman on the floor.

“He just was so reassuring, so calming, and said, ‘you know what? I got you,'” Lee told ABC 7, continuing: “‘I’m gonna be there for you, just anything you need to let me know.’ And he was so wonderful and reassuring. With every little noise, she’d be like, ‘what’s that?’ He’s like, ‘that’s okay. That’s just the jet bridge pulling away’ or whatever the case may be. And that really helped her.”

She said the flight attendant sat in the aisle for nearly 10 minutes, holding the passenger's hand and kept reassuring her that she was safe.

Floyd's kindness had such a profound impact on Lee that she couldn't help taking a picture of the beautiful moment and posting it on Facebook earlier this month. The photo has since been shared over 11,000 times.

“He didn’t have to do that, you know, and to just see someone extend their heart in that way to a stranger was just beautiful to me, and I wanted to capture it,” Lee said.

She also set up a fundraiser on gofundme.com to "Show Floyd Shannon-Dean Some Love!" and has raised over $3,000 (nearly Rs 2.4 lakh) so far.