Flying can be pretty scary! Some people don’t seem to mind it, but a lot of us can struggle with the idea of sitting in a big metal tube flying thousands of feet above the ground, and the fear can be even worse when it’s your first time flying in a while.

One 96-year-old passenger recently found herself in a state of panic on a flight from San Diego to Nashville, but an unlikely hero was ready to ensure that her story had a happy ending.

The old lady was celebrating a birthday and wanted to visit some family in Kansas City, so she decided to be brave and book a flight, despite not having stepped foot on a plane for more than 15 years!

Naturally, after such a long time without flying, the old lady was quite scared. It’s totally normal and many people experience that same fear each and every day. Even those who fly regularly can get a little nervous ahead of take-off, and we can definitely relate and understand the concerns of this adorable grandma.

Well, it looks like Lady Luck was shining on her that day because the man sitting next to her proved to be her guardian angel!

Just before take-off, she asked if he wouldn’t mind holding her hand as she was feeling a little scared. The guy could easily have ignored or denied the old woman’s request, but he did the best possible thing, offering her his hand and then providing additional support all through the flight.

There was a bit of turbulence while the plane was in the air, but the guy happily allowed the old lady to hug him and squeeze his arm for comfort. He also calmly spoke with her and tried to help her feel better, as well as helping her stand up to go use the restroom and keeping an eye on her as she walked down the aisle.

Even when the plane landed, the gentleman’s kindness didn’t end!

He helped the lady with her bag, guided her off the airplane and into her wheelchair, and even stayed with her while she waited to meet up with her daughter.

What an amazing guy! It’s always inspiring to hear about random acts of kindness, especially from one stranger to another. Stories like this one remind us that there are a lot of truly good people out there doing lovely things without expecting anything in return, proving that even though there’s a lot of bad news in the world, awesome folks still exist!

This guy is an everyday hero who deserves so much respect for his selfless act, and we have to thank one of the other passengers on the flight, Megan Ashley, for sharing the story with us.

Megan snapped a photo of the man and the old lady together and shared it, along with a caption explaining the whole story, on her personal Facebook page. It quickly went viral, racking up tens of thousands of shares and hundreds of thousands of reactions too. Check out the full post below to learn more about this ‘flight angel’.

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