Flight attendants and passengers on a JetBlue flight bound for Orlando went above and beyond to comfort the grandmother of the one of the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting.
According to a Facebook post by flight attendant Kelly Davis Karas, the grandmother of Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo was headed to Orlando for her grandson’s funeral on Monday. Though she was traveling by herself, Karas made sure that a flight attendant was with her every step of the way.
After the plane took off, Karas and a co-worker began passing around a piece of paper for passengers to sign and share their sentiments. However, Karas quickly realized that she needed more paper — people were writing full paragraphs worth of supporting words.
“When we gathered them together to present them to her, we didn't have just a sheet of paper covered in names, which is what I had envisioned. Instead, we had page after page after page after page of long messages offering condolences, peace, love and support,” Karas said in her Facebook post.
After the plane landed, Karas gave her post-flight announcements, closing with “JetBlue stands with Orlando.” Then, as passengers filed off the plane, everyone made sure to stop and offer condolences to Ocasio-Capo’s grandmother.
“Some just said they were sorry, some touched her hand, some hugged her, some cried with her. But every single person stopped to speak to her, and not a single person was impatient at the slower deplaning process,” Karas said. “Through our customers' humanity today, and through the generosity of this wonderful company I am so grateful to work for, I am hopeful that someday soon we can rally together to make the world a safer place for all.”
Read Karas’ full Facebook post below.
A JetBlue employee confirmed Karas’ story in a statement to CNN.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
