Delta Crew Personally Buys Items for Afghan Children Refugees
Flight attendants on a Delta Air Lines flight being used to evacuate Afghan refugees pooled their money and personally paid for special items for children on board the plane, including diapers, wipes, candy, balloons and coloring books.
“We knew these evacuees were coming with no opportunity to prepare,” pilot Alexander Kahn told CNN in a live interview, as relayed by People Magazine.
Kahn said the flight attendants purchased the goods “on their own initiative” the night before the flight.
Kahn said the pilots offered to reimburse them for their generous gesture, but the flight attendants “refused to take any” compensation from their crewmates.
The evacuees had no chance “to take things that you and I would prepare (to use) for an international flight,” he told Berman.
Kahn is the son of a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States after being liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp. He said his father entered the country much like many of the evacuees currently coming to the U.S. — with just “the clothes on his back, no family [and] no English skills,” he said.
“I was able to put myself in their position and realize that they’re starting a new life,” he added. “This is going to be a frightening experience for them. But it has the potential to be an excellent experience for them.”
Separately, Delta announced its commitment to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has now surpassed a half-billion dollars. The airline said the investment made to protect its workers and customers includes testing, vaccines and payroll protection.
“Today, we are thrilled to announce we have reached an important milestone by reaching a 75 percent employee vaccination rate. We are one step closer to getting back to what we do best – connecting the world,” Delta said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the current aggressive B.1.617.2 (delta) variant presents a very real threat to the health of our employee population – particularly those who remain unvaccinated.”