Passengers Cheer As Pilot Announces There Are Special Guests On Board

An airline pilot has melted hearts all over the internet after a video of her most special announcement yet went viral on social media. The heartwarming video, shared on TikTok in August by the pilot herself under the username @michelleherbie, shows the first officer standing by the speaker, right before take off, giving her passengers some delightful news. "Today is actually a very special flight for me because both my parents will be joining me on my flight and it's the very first time," she can be heard saying as the crowd cheers ecstatically. More From Newsweek Vault: Compare the Best Rewards Credit Cards for Travel "I would like to thanks my parents because without them this would have never been possible, so thank you mom and dad," she continues. A caption shared with the viral clip reads: "Flew my parents for the first time, decided to make a little PA! Had a great bunch of [enthusiastic] passengers on board."

While it's becoming a much widespread career choice among women, still only 4 to 6 percent of all airline pilots are females, according to the latest global data shared by the Centre For Aviation (CAPA). More From Newsweek Vault: Compare the Best Travel Insurance Companies As for the U.S., women account for around 5.2 percent of airline pilots and 10.3 percent of all pilots. However, despite the low numbers, women's interest in qualifying as cockpit crew is growing. "The number of women holding FAA student pilot certificates increased almost five times, from 9,897 in 2003 to 49,286 in 2023. As a share of all student pilots, the figure increased from 11.3 percent in 2003 to 15.6 percent in 2023," the Centre For Aviation says. More From Newsweek Vault: Which Airlines Have the Best (or Worst) Fees? CAPA also found that women are under-represented in the senior ranks of airline management too. The only group in aviation where women outnumber men is flight attendants, however, this role is usually at the lower end of the salary range in the industry. The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 280,000 views and 8,750 likes on the platform. One user, EGCC_Aviation, commented: "There's my favourite pilot." User8267849990503 said: "Much respect for this woman." BGrant added: "Bet that was a very proud moment!" Richardlee wrote: "Checking on their investment!!" Newsweek reached out to michelleherbie for comment via TikTok and Instagram comments. We could not verify the details of the case. Do you have funny videos or stories you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some extra details and they could appear on our website.