A Delta flight attendant went viral after a flyer posted a photo of him sitting in the aisle to comfort a nervous passenger

• A Delta flight attendant comforted a passenger during a turbulent flight earlier this month.
• Flight attendant Floyd Dean-Shannon calmed the passenger, and another flyer photographed the moment.

"Hey, I have you," Delta flight attendant Floyd Dean-Shannon said as he crouched down in the aisle to comfort a passenger on a recent flight, in a moment that has since gone viral.

The woman, named Shannon, was flying from Charlotte, North Carolina, to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on January 14, 2023, when the plane experienced turbulence, according to Delta.

That's when Dean-Shannon — a Delta Connection flight attendant with Delta subsidiary Endeavor Air — stepped in, according to the airline.

Dean-Shannon sat down in the aisle, held the passenger's hand, and stayed with her for the remainder of the flight, explaining every bump they encountered, according to the same source.

Another passenger on the flight, Molly Simonson Lee, photographed the moment and shared it to her Facebook page. The photo quickly gained interest online; as of Monday, Simonson Lee's post had 12,000 likes and 12,000 shares. Some of the post's 1,300 comments show that the image has calmed other nervous flyers, too.

"I'm nervous about flying for the first time in about a month," one Facebook user wrote. "Thank you for posting this; it has already given me comfort!"

According to Delta, Dean-Shannon has been a flight attendant for three months.

"As a flight attendant, you set the tone," Dean-Shannon was quoted saying on Delta's website. "As a passenger, I would want to be treated the same way. I have to remember; I was in that seat, too."

The act of kindness spread further on Thursday when CNN reported on the moment.

"When she came onto the plane she was a little nervous," Dean-Shannon said of the passenger on CNN. "Before we even took off, she started sweating."

Dean-Shannon told CNN when he started comforting Shannon, she said, "I don't want this, I'm embarrassed," to which he responded, "there's no need to be embarrassed, I'm here."

According to Delta, Dean-Shannon and Shannon have since become Facebook friends. "She now wants me with her on every single flight," Dean-Shannon said on Delta's website.

Delta, Dean-Shannon, and Simonson Lee did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.