A video showing a flight attendant being surprised by a familiar passenger aboard a flight has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted by @liubovblk, a flight attendant with Emirates, according to her TikTok profile. The video has had 3.7 million views since it was first shared on April 12.
The footage shows a flight attendant standing at the side while several passengers walk down the aisle. The flight attendant is seen smiling at the passengers going past her.
A message overlaid on the video reads: “POV [point of view]: You can’t meet on day off and your friend decides to meet you at your job.”
As the camera reaches the point where the flight attendant is standing, she flashes a brief smile before she appears completely dumbfounded in surprise. With her eyes and mouth wide open, she recognizes the person behind the camera and appears to hug them before the clip ends.
A caption shared with the post reads: “When your friend caught the flight just to see you.”
The latest video comes as the flight attendant profession was ranked 48th in the 2024 edition of the annual “100 Best Jobs” ranking by U.S. News and World Report. The profession ranked third among the highest paying jobs without a degree and fifth among both the best civil service jobs and best jobs without a college degree.
Flight attendant employment is projected to grow 11 percent from 2022 to 2032, “much faster than the average for all occupations,”per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“About 16,600 openings for flight attendants are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire,” according to the BLS.
‘Priceless’
Users on TikTok were delighted by the flight attendant’s heartwarming reaction in the latest viral post.
Chess noted: “The look of ‘oh you look like my friend..wait you ARE my friend!'”
User jOppa wrote: “That’s absolutely adorable. priceless.”
SamB said, “Awww such a genuine delighted reaction!” while gugu noted: “The realization.”
“She’s so happy see u,” wrote user8293048362453 and the original poster replied, “I’m very lucky with my friends.”
CallmeFurki said, “wow what a pleasant surprise” and atabroad noted: “What a good friend.”
“The change in expression when you see your friend is so wonderful!” wrote @i.r.i.s.410.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.