Hats off to this wonderful airline crew.
When a young woman found out her father passed away just as she was about to get on a plane, the amazing actions of the airline’s staff helped her through the no doubt excruciating journey.
23-year old Nikki Griffith was rushing to catch her Air New Zealand flight when she found out the tragic news. Shocked and heartbroken, she collapsed onto the ground and began sobbing hysterically.
However, she wasn’t left to cry alone. Straight away she was scooped up by staff and taken to a room to be comforted with hugs and given water to drink, while they made arrangements for her to be collected off the plane when she arrived at her destination.
“Jodie returned with the water, more hugs and had also changed my seat to the very back row and had blocked off the seat next to me so I had some privacy,” wrote Nikki in an emotional post on Air New Zealand’s Facebook page.
“A man named Jamie came in to check if my flight had started boarding yet as well as making sure I had a bottle of water and some snacks to help with the shock. I was personally escorted by [staff] Angie and Jodie through the back of the airport, to the gate and they came with me to board the plane and ensure I was taken care of. A few more hugs and I was then put in the safe hands of the amazing flight attendants Rachel and Livvey (I hope I have their names right, the night was a bit of an emotional blur).
“They were so kind and caring and made the flight seem to go very quickly. When they had a rare spare moment they would sit next to me and give me a cuddle, make sure I had eaten something as well as drinking plenty of water and tea. It was an extremely tough time made a lot easier by your fantastic staff.
“I will be eternally grateful for how I was treated and I'm sure my dad would have been so proud that his little girl was looked after in such a difficult time. Thank you so much Air New Zealand.”
We are so very moved by this story. The compassionate, caring actions of these staff members helped a woman in pain get through the unthinkable. We applaud their big, BIG hearts.
