Photo of Endeavor Airlines flight attendant and nervous flier goes viral

Floyd Shannon-Dean gained the attention of thousands after being photographed with a nervous flier. Photo / Facebook, Floyd Shannon-Dean

A flight attendant has attracted much attention from passengers – and now social media – for all the right reasons.

Passengers watched in awe as the Endeavor Air crew member went above and beyond on a recent flight between Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to JFK International Airport in New York.

Floyd Shannon-Dean paid extra attention to a nervous flyer, whose identity is unknown, according to fellow passenger Molly Simonson Lee.

Ms Simonson Lee was seated behind the fearful flyer and witnessed the encounter, snapping a photograph of the awesome moment and sharing it on her Facebook page.

She explained that Mr Shannon-Dean had eased the woman’s fears by explaining all the noises coming from the aircraft, and any bumps they felt.

All this while crouched down in the aisle, holding her hand with his left hand while gripping his coffee cup with his right hand. The eye contact they are making in the photo appears very comforting.

She was so impressed by what she saw that Ms Simonson Lee wanted the world to know – especially Mr Shannon-Dean’s employer as she felt his actions warranted a pay rise.

“Check out this gem of a flight attendant that was on our flight from CLT to JFK,” she wrote. “This woman was so nervous about flying, so he explained every sound and bump and even sat here holding her hand when it still got to be too much for her.

“@Delta, Floyd Shannon-Dean deserves a raise!”

She said his kindness knew no limits.

“He radiated kindness and warmth. He even said ‘if no one else has said it to you, I love you’.”

Endeavor Air is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, hence why Ms Simonson Lee gave Delta the shout-out. However his Facebook page lists his employer as Endeavor Air.

Commenters on her post said they passed on her praise of Mr Shannon-Dean to Endeavor Air’s management team.

Many commenters were so amazed by Mr Shannon-Dean’s generous act that they wished to have him on their next flight.

One wrote: “Bless him … the world needs more people like him.”

While another said: “I’m flying in April and so scared. I hope we have lovely flight attendants too.

A third commented: “Wow I wish I had met him on flights! The hostess just rolled her eyes and looked away when I sat crying on a turbulent flight coming in to land. Reassuring smile would have been enough! Well done this fella.”

And a fourth wrote: “What an incredible act of kindness to witness!”

Many people experience a fear or nervousness when flying. Some statistics put the number of those affected as high as one in four, while Virgin Australia say more than 10 per cent of its guests experience high levels of nervousness when travelling.

Tips to overcome anxiety include learning how the plane works, knowing exactly what’s happening as the plane takes off, reaches altitude and then lands at the destination. It’s also a good idea to look at the airline’s safety statistics – many airlines have never experienced a major incident.

Before a flight, passengers might benefit from learning some relaxation techniques. There are also courses to help people overcome their fears.