Dublin Airport passenger’s teary flight goes viral after experience with elderly couple

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A Dublin Airport bound passenger’s flight experience has gone viral after an emotional encounter with an elderly couple that left him in tears.

Caolan Mc Aree was on a flight back from Malaga when he saw a woman becoming agitated and trying to get out of her seat in the row across from him.

The woman’s husband, who was sitting next to her, kept trying to calm her down when he noticed Caolan looking at him.

He said on Twitter: “I was trying to mind my own business but the man caught my eye and stared at me like he needed help, so I asked him was everything OK.

“He shuffled across his seat and leant into my row. ‘She’s got dementia’ he said, full tears in his eyes now.

“Things made more sense so I stupidly said, ‘let me know if you need help with anything’.”

The woman calmed down and fell asleep after a while and the husband got chatting to Caolan.

He continued: “The two of us got chatting, him explaining her dementia and how much she had deteriorated recently, more tears in his eyes.

“Trying to cheer him up a bit I said sure we’re still on holiday until the plane lands ‘cmon we grab a beer’. Pressed the call button and ordered 2 beers from the air host.”

The man told Caolan that they had been to Nerja in Spain for 30+ years and it was her favourite place.

“This time she was very confused for most of the trip, but he wanted to bring her one last time and said he was still glad he did.

“When the plane landed I helped them with their suitcase down the steps onto the tarmac. I put out my hand to shake it and he pulled me in and hugged me thanking me for being kind, more tears in his eyes.”

This pushed him over the edge as Caolan found himself in tears.

He said: “I’d been holding it in for the full flight but I lost it too and stood there crying with him.

“Airport assist were there to help them through the airport so I wished them luck and ran into the terminal building bawling behind my sunglasses.”

He said he still keeps thinking about the two of them in “happier times, laughing together at their favourite little wine bar in Nerja”.

He said: “Don’t really know why I’m sharing all this but I’ve been lucky enough to never really experience dementia first hand. My heart goes out to anyone who is dealing with it now in their lives, it’s fucking heartbreaking.”

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