Daughter Reveals How Delta Air Lines Held Plane so She Could Say Final Goodbye to Her Dying Mother: 'Gave Me the Gift of Time'

• TikTok user Hannah White revealed how Delta Air Lines held up her connecting flight so she could say goodbye to her dying mother in a now-viral clip
• “Delta’s kindness gave me 24 extra hours with her. I was able to say ‘I love you’ one last time,” White wrote in the heartfelt video
• “I don’t think any of them really know how grateful I am to them for giving me a little more time with my mom or just being good to me on one of the worst days of my life,” White added to CNN Travel.

A woman will be forever grateful to Delta Air Lines after the team helped her say a final goodbye to her dying mother.

In a now-viral TikTok posted on December 9, 2024, Hannah White explained how her mom, Kathleen Nelson, was in the hospital with undiagnosed pneumonia, adding that she “had surgery and is doing well.”

White then got a call from her brother saying their mom’s body had gone into septic shock “and the family needed to see her right away” because “the doctors didn’t know what was wrong or how long she had.”

White then took “the first flight the next day from Dallas, with a layover in Minneapolis.” However, “mechanical issues” ended up sitting them at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for over an hour, meaning she likely wouldn’t make the connecting flight.

She said if she didn’t get on another plane, “I wouldn’t see my mom until the next day and we weren’t sure she was going to be alive,” according to the clip on TikTok.

TikToker Hannah White as a little girl and her mother Kathleen Nelson.

Courtesy of Hannah White

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After speaking with the flight attendant, White was told that she would miss her connecting flight and that she had already booked a flight for the following day.

“When she explained it to me, I was immediately in tears. She was apologizing and crying with me. I was bawling in my seat, knowing there was a possibility I wouldn’t be able to see my mom one last time,” White captioned the TikTok clip, before explained that the attendant shared the story with the pilot, who arranged for a connecting flight to wait for her.

The team even put White in first class, so she “could get off the plane faster.” The pilot also made a post to let people know that she had to get off the plane first to say goodbye to her mom.

“The guy next to me realized they were talking about me, so he pulled out an airport map and helped me find the connecting gate. He told me to run as fast as I could as soon as we landed,” White wrote.

She eventually made it onto a connecting flight after a 30-minute wait, finding the staff friendly and the pilot shaking her hand and saying he would pray for her.

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TikToker Hannah White thanked Delta for helping her spend her last day with her mom, Kathleen Nelson.

Courtesy of Hannah White

“My mom passed away the next day. Delta’s kindness gave me 24 extra hours with her. I was able to say ‘I love you’ one last time and give her the comfort in her last moments that she gave me my whole life,” White wrote, thanking to the airline and saying “you gave me the gift of time.”

Since she posted it last month, White’s video had 1.9 million likes and 10.2 million views as of Tuesday, January 7.

The flight attendant who helped White that day was Eva Ortiz, according to CNN Travel, with the pilot, Capt. Keith Napolitano, saying of the incredible outcome, “The stars don’t always align where I have the immediate ability to influence the outcome, but this was one of those cases where I thought it was possible.”

White told the publication, “I was overwhelmed with joy because I accepted that I wasn’t going to see my mom until the next day.”

“I don’t think any of them really know how grateful I am to them for giving me a little more time with my mom or just being good to me on one of the worst days of my life,” she added, according to the outlet. .

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The late mother of TikToker Hannah White Kathleen Nelson recalled.

Courtesy of Hannah White

“My mom was the love of my life,” White continued. “I know everyone says this about their mother, but she was truly the epitome of grace, class, kindness, patience and unconditional love.”

“I feel eternally grateful to them. It wasn’t one person who did one huge thing, a lot of people did a really nice thing,” she added in the publication.

White thanked the staff for the “overwhelming” and “totally unexpected response” in one of her follow-up TikTok videos, revealing that she had been in touch with a Delta executive, who assured her that the team that was supposed to help her that day would be recognized which they deserve.

A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, “On behalf of the Delta family, we extend our sincere condolences to Hannah and her family.”

“We are comforted by the fact that our people were able to help Hannah reach her destination in time to be with her mother. Our team understands how important these moments are and we thank Hannah for trusting us with her journey,” they added. .

White did not immediately respond when PEOPLE contacted him.

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Source: HIS Education