There's nothing worse than a delayed flight when you've been in the air for hours on end. According to TravelPerk, around 37% of flights in the U.S. in 2024 experienced a minor or major delay. There are a few things that can cheer you up at that moment, but would you say that a live performance through the intercom is one of them?
Recently, videos of a girl singing a song from the 2016 animated movie Moana during a two-hour delayed Delta flight started going viral on social media. People divided into two camps: some shamed the kid and her parents for not reading the room. Others were more forgiving: "She's a kid."
Bored Panda got in touch with the person who posted that first video, and he kindly agreed to chat with us. He told us why he actually enjoyed the performance and didn't expect the Internet to spew so much vitriol toward the girl and her parents. Read our conversation with @druziroaming below!
Passengers of a two-hour delayed flight were subjected to a girl's performance of "How far I'll go" from Moana
Image credits: Hanson Lu / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: druziroaming
One passenger shared a video with the caption: "Suddenly everything feels okay"
"I never wanted to harm or traumatize the girl [with] all the comments coming from soulless people," the person who shared the first video tells Bored Panda
While many may have interpreted @druziroaming's video and caption as ironic, he tells Bored Panda that the whole ordeal was actually sweet in his eyes.
"I shared the video because I was happy with the experience and opportunity I had to see the girl being brave enough to simply sing to the whole plane, no matter how delayed we were," the creator told us.
He never expected the video to go viral or get this much attention. "I never wanted to harm or traumatize the girl [with] all the comments coming from soulless people," he reiterates.
"From my perspective, no one acted inappropriately; neither the parents or the kid, or the flight attendant." He doesn't even blame the airline for the delay.
Although some commenters pointed out that this is just one example of many where people ignore basic airplane etiquette, @druziroaming disagrees. "To be honest, I would say [airplane etiquette] has improved," he believes. "People [are] respectfully waiting to leave the plane, for example."
In the end, the creator chooses to look at the whole situation positively. "People's comments are just comments," he tells us. "I just hope the girl never stops pursuing her dreams and sticks to what she believes. No one's opinion should impact her in a negative way."
Another passenger detailed her experience in a different video
Image credits: stephtravelstories
The incident took place onboard a Delta flight from Atlanta to Orlando, home of the Walt Disney World® Resort. So, perhaps it's fitting that a young passenger broke into a song from a Disney animated movie.
The original video that went viral on TikTok was posted by user @druziroaming and now has over 32 million views. But videos of other passengers' POVs soon started popping up on the platform.
Granted, some were comedy skits using the original sound, while others were from actual passengers from that flight. One of them, Stephanie, aka @stephtravelstories, captioned her first video with "POV: You're on that delayed flight to Orlando. You're tired. You're sweating. And this happens."
However, Stephanie elaborated on the experience in a follow-up video. She explained that many passengers probably felt the same way as she did since they had to wait 1.5-2 hours to even get on the plane due to delays caused by bad weather.
"She sang the whole song," the other passenger shared
Image credits: stephtravelstories
When the boarding was complete, the passengers had to wait another two hours to get the all-clear from Orlando airport. "We are unable to leave because there's still some bad weather out here, and Orlando airport is not receiving or letting any flights out," Stephanie explained. "So, we're essentially just stuck there until they open the airport for us to fly back home."
The passengers then heard an announcement from a flight attendant that a young girl wanted to sing a song together from Moana. Stephanie says she thought the girl would sing a portion of the song, but she actually sang the entire number.
When she finished, some people clapped. "There was some scattered applause," Stephanie says in her video. So, it turns out not everyone was so annoyed. "But it was also very uncomfortable to have been a part of this," she adds.
Although some people accused these creators of unnecessarily shaming the young girl, Stephanie clarifies that it was her raw, unedited reaction in that moment. "I'm tired, I'm hot, I'm hungry, I'm anxious to get home. And now here I am in this predicament."
Delta Air Lines released a statement about this whole incident
Image credits: Trac Vu / unsplash (not the actual photo)
The girl's performance on the plane garnered a lot of attention online. People on social media made reactions and parody videos about how it must have felt to be on that plane. Many media outlets covered the story, too.
Delta Air Lines even responded to a request for comment from Newsweek. "We appreciate the customer sharing her talents and apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels," a spokesperson said.
Generally, airplane etiquette rules dictate that passengers should wear headphones when playing entertainment and not subject their neighbors to unwanted noises. Flight attendants always try to minimize disturbances during flights. That's why it might seem strange that this flight attendant decided to impose an impromptu performance on the already tired and annoyed passengers.
Commenters called out the girl and her parents for causing a cringefest
