A Delta Air Lines employee recently went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that a special needs passenger felt safe traveling while wearing a mask. The news is a reassuring change at a time when negative stories about those refusing to wear masks have plagued the media.

The aviation industry has found itself in a very unexpected and different place from where it was a year ago. This time last year, passengers would've been flocking for their summer holidays with around 2.5-3 million travelers passing TSA checkpoints every day. Now, only 600,000 to 700,000 passengers are recorded to be passing through.

The story starts here

Time and time again, there have been plenty of negative stories regarding masks. Most recently, we saw a passenger forced off of a Spirit Airlines flight for refusing to wear a mask.

Jay G. was due to fly on Delta Air Lines with his special needs son, Crew. He called the airline's contact center for its highest tier frequent fliers to speak about masks and was put through to an operative named Sarah. Jay explained that due to many surgeries over the years, his son was very apprehensive about wearing surgical masks.

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Sarah took the time to explain to Jay that other options for masks exist, and suggested that he try one with a pattern that his son may enjoy. Sarah issued Jay with some guidance on where he may find an Elmo mask, as this was his son's favorite.

Delta Getty
Historically, Delta flew seasonally to leisure destinations in Europe over the busy summer months. Photo: Getty Images

Going beyond the call of duty

Now, most people would expect that once the phone call had ended, that would be the end of the matter. However, it was far from it. Around a week later, Jay received an unexpected package in the post. It turns out that Sarah had gone out of the way to send Jay masks for his whole family.

Delta Air Lines, Face Masks, Customer Service
Sarah sent masks for the whole family and even made a special Elmo one for Crew. Photo: Delta Air Lines

However, she had been paying attention to the conversation, as she had taken the time to make a very special Elmo mask for Jay's son.

"I wanted to take a few minutes and make sure that you know the value that Sarah brings to people as well as to a total stranger on the phone. I’m very blessed to have met her."

Delta Air Lines, Face Masks, Customer Service
Elmo even got to try on the mask. Photo: Delta Air Lines

Meanwhile, Tori Forbes-Roberts, Senior Vice President – Reservations Sales and Customer Care, commented,

“Sarah’s above-and-beyond generosity reminds us that kindness does matter”

Not the first time

This isn't the first time that Delta has gone out of the way to help people. In June last year, Simple Flying reported that the airline had come to the rescue after American Airlines effectively abandoned a group of fifth-grade students.

The story repeated itself in October when the airline once again came to the aid of stranded students. This time it was a group of 80 students and chaperones bound for Disney World. Frontier canceled their flight, so Delta flew an MD-88 to pick the students up with no extra charge.

Have you benefitted from a Delta Air Lines good deed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!