American Airlines flight attendant gives emotional speech on final service before being furloughed

A flight attendant’s emotional speech onboard her last flight before being furloughed has gone viral.

Kirsten Hamik, a member of cabin crew for American Airlines, delivered the farewell address to passengers during her final service.

The heartfelt announcement was filmed and shared on Tiktok and viewed more than 10 million times.

In the video, Ms Hamik’s voice is full of emotion as she thanks customers and crew: “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to share some final words with you all before we all part ways today,” she says.

“As we all know, Covid-19 has turned the world upside-down this year. I’m sure every one of you has been affected in some way.

“And unfortunately, the airline industry has been impacted greatly. Due to these circumstances, American Airlines has been forced to furlough 8,099 flight attendants. The entire crew working this flight is part of that number and this is our final flight.”

Ms Hamik added: “We would like to thank each and every one of you all. Thank you for the smiles, the kindness, and, of course, your business.

“Every single day I witness these tiny little human miracles. Strangers helping one another, sharing photos and stories of loved ones they are on their way to visit, comforting each other when turbulence gets rough, playing peek-a-boo with a baby sat in the row ahead.

“There are many things that make this job great but the main reason is because of all of you. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

She went on to commend her fellow flight attendants in a second video, saying she had been “truly blessed” to work alongside them.

“We walk onto the plane as strangers and walk off as close friends,” she said. “In the midst of the chaos, you all help me to feel not only sane, but happy to be here.

“Thank you for the laughs, the adventures and for helping me save a ton of money by providing me with free jumpseat therapy.”

Ms Hamik finished by saying she had no doubt there would be “beautiful things in [their] future endeavours”.

US airlines began furloughing more than 32,000 employees on 1 October after a federal prohibition on job cuts expired.

American Airlines and United Airlines said that they could reverse the furloughs if Congress and the White House quickly agree to provide billions more in taxpayer help to the aviation industry.

Airlines and their unions are lobbying for money to keep workers on airline payrolls for six more months until next March. They originally received $25bn, mostly in cash, to pay employees until 30 September in exchange for avoiding layoffs or furloughs.

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