Elderly Couple Removed from Flight After Losing Passports, Then Delta Crew and Passengers Came to the Rescue

NEED TO KNOW

• Instagram user Brent Silkey posted a series of videos on the platform sharing how a couple on his flight to South Africa lost their passports, and the surprising events that followed

• Due to the mishap, the couple and their belongings had to be removed from the plane

• The patient passengers and diligent flight crew came to the rescue, and the couple was allowed to reboard

An elderly couple’s five-week planned vacation almost ended before it took off.

A video is going viral documenting the sweet story of a couple who were en route from Atlanta to Cape Town, South Africa, until one of their passports went missing.

A fellow passenger, Brent Silkey, explained in an Instagram video that “somewhere between checking in at the gate and getting on the plane, they lost their passports. Like couldn’t find it anywhere, looked everywhere, in their bags, in their stuff, asked everyone to look.” Rather than be annoyed by the disturbance and delay, he says the crew and passengers were “all emotionally invested in this couple.”

Silkey explained that the plane waited to take off in order for them to try to find the passports in the cabin. But after a failed search, they were told they would have to deplane. “They were so gracious, and so kind and so sweet,” the passenger said. In addition to deboarding, their luggage had to be removed from the plane’s cargo area.

“Everyone around this area that was hearing them was like heartbroken because like they had all of these amazing things planned for the next five weeks, and to see them have to leave the plane was really sad,” Silkey said.

But then, “something happened that changed everything,” he shares. One of the Delta flight attendants located the passports.

The flight attendant, whom Silkey said was a “hero,” jumped up from the floor with the passports in her hand and shouted, “Open the door! Oh my god I found them! Yay!”

The only issue was that the plane crew then also had to locate the couple and bring them back. “The plane is going to go absolutely nuts, because we’re all rooting for them,” Silkey said.

The plane then returned to the boarding gate to get the couple. Once back on the aircraft, he says, the passengers all cheered, but he failed to capture the moment on camera amid the excitement. The wife graciously said, “Thank you” to everyone involved, as her husband spoke to the flight attendant who located the passports.

Silkey documented the entire experience on Instagram and shared that he sent the woman a note wishing the pair a safe trip. He also revealed that the pilot said the flight was the final one of his career.

Read the original article on People