A heartwarming video shows President Jimmy Carter shaking hands with every Delta Air Lines passenger in 2017, prompting tributes to the late commander-in-chief, who passed away on Sunday.
Carter, then 92, smiled and greeted happy travelers as he walked inside a commercial plane departing from Atlanta International Airport for Washington, D.C.
“That's awesome, how are you doing?” one flyer can be heard asking Carter in the clip, while another flier expresses admiration for Carter.
“Every time Jimmy Carter got on Delta Airlines, he shook the hand of every single person on the plane because that's who he was. He treated people like people.” Along with the video, Delta Airlines wrote to X:.
Carter, the longest-serving U.S. president, died Sunday at age 100 in Plains, Georgia, after spending nearly two years in hospice care.
He leaves behind four children, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.
His wife of over 70 years, Rosalyn Cartner, passed away in November 2023. She was 96 years old.
The 39th president of the United States, a frequent flyer of Delta Air Lines, often responded to requests from hopeful passengers for selfies.
“It's hard to express in words what a wonderful reprieve from the current political drama this moment has been,” said James Parker Sheffield, the passenger who filmed the viral video. told WSBTV at the time..
“His enthusiasm was genuine and humbling, and it took the weight off things for a moment.”
Other passengers shared similar pleasant experiences about Mr. Carter's unique greetings on domestic and international flights.
Bob Elliott, Unlimited's CEO and chief information officer, recalled riding with the president on a flight to Atlanta.
“He walked around the plane greeting everyone and spoke for a little while with many of the people on the plane. It's hard to imagine any president since doing the same thing,” Elliott said. I remembered it with X.
“I was once on a plane returning to the United States from Amsterdam when, to my surprise, President Carter boarded the plane,” said author Gregory K. Riggen. “He certainly walked around the plane and shook hands with everyone on board. It was a pleasure to meet him.”
“My oldest son, my wife, and I shook President Carter's hand on the Delta flight. We actually shook hands twice,” added another Delta passenger. “He boarded the entire plane and shook hands with everyone he wanted!”
President Biden ordered a formal state funeral for Carter to be held in Washington, D.C., and declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning across the United States.
According to AJCAfter a ceremony in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, Carter and Rosalynn will be buried on the family plot. Atlanta and Washington DC.
