Children love to make their parents proud. Raphael Leong, a 38-year-old Singaporean pilot, did it by switching shifts with his colleague to fly his parents for the first time.
Mr. and Mrs. Leong didn’t know that their son is flying the plane, and the wholesome surprise is heartwarming. More than 6 million people have seen Raphael’s surprise video on YouTube.
Fasten your seatbelts because we’re about to fly into this wholesome story.
According to Mashable, Raphael said that it was his lifelong dream to become a pilot with JetStar Asia.
To make things more interesting, Raphael’s parents were on board on a very special date. It was exactly one year since he had become a pilot. Who would miss such a fateful opportunity?!
Leong swapped shifts with another pilot to fly the JetStar Asia flight 3K558 to Singapore.
Raph’s unsuspecting parents were flying back to Singapore from Vietnam. Their holiday in Ho Chi Minh City had just ended, and Raphael finished it off with the most adorable surprise. “This is the first time in my life that they will be on a flight that I’ll be flying,” said Leong in his announcement.
“Hi, Pa! Hi, Mom!”
You can see the pilot addressing the passengers right from the beginning of the video. At first, Raphael says that he’s excited because it’s an exceptional flight and then proceeds to explain why. His parents are on board. Raphael shortly greets them and says that he loves them a lot.
The camera then switches to people on board, and you can see a bunch of happy faces.
Raphael’s sweet gesture touched everyone. One YouTube user commented:
“That’s how you know the landing is going to be super smooth.”
Jokes aside, Raphael seems to have a strong bond with his parents, and we’re proud of him. Dennis and Rosalind, Raphael’s parents, said they’re more than happy to see their son accomplishing his greatest dream.
So, how did his mom react when her son made his announcement?
Turns out, at the time of Raphael’s announcement, Mrs. Rosalind was in the plane’s lavatory… whoops!
Luckily, Raphael’s mom could still hear her son’s voice. Leong said that he expected his mom to jump up as soon as she saw him, saying, “That’s my son!” However, the mother was in the restroom.
Anyway, Dennis waved at Raphael, surprised to see his son as a pilot of the plane.
“I always told him to reach for the sky,” explained Rosalind. It’s nice that Raphael took it literally, and now, JetStar Asia has got a fantastic pilot. Imagine if his mom told him to reach for the stars. Maybe Raphael would be an astronaut.
Rosalind concluded:
“I feel very great and very proud of my son.”
When the stars get in your eyes, don't let them blind you
Posted by Raphael Leong onFriday, January 22, 2016
In the video, the pilot says:
“This is a very proud moment for me, and I thank all of you for being part of it.”
Such a simple statement was more than enough for Raphael to beautifully end his short announcement and make everyone on the plane a part of his surprise. The video ends distinctively; Raphael and his mom share a big hug.
We must say that Rosalind looks like a lovely, devoted mother. There’s no doubt that the Leongs did a great job raising a wonderful man.
Here is a fun fact for you…
Did you know that the busiest day recorded in aviation is 24 July 2019, with more than 225,000 flights on that day? Now that we’ve gotten that exciting information out of the way, let’s just say that we wish Raphael all the best. May the sky always be clear for him.
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