Positive News: Delta Airlines Treats Teens To Free ‘Dream Flights’ Inspiring Many To Become Pilots And Engineers

Delta Airlines Treats Teens To Free ‘Dream Flights’ Inspiring Many To Become Pilots And Engineers

Every year, Delta Airlines hosts a special, one-of-a-kind trip to place the heads of ambitious Black students squarely in the clouds.

Climbing aboard a Boeing 757 as it took off from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, 100 local teens were the latest passengers on Delta’s “Dream Flights” program, a give-back initiative that introduces students to the concept of a career in aerospace and aviation.

Organized in partnership with the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), the concept goes right back to that famous quote Whoopi Goldberg said when she saw Lieutenant Ohura in Star Trek: “I just saw a black woman on TV and she ain’t no maid!”

“When I met my first Black pilot, that’s when I realized I could do it too,” said Delta captain Justin Mutawassim. “Now, I get to show these students—especially Hayden—that they can follow that same path.”

17-year-old Hayden Lynch has Mutawassim as a program mentor, and years before he stepped onboard Delta flight 2025, he became smitten with aviation after receiving a drone for Christmas.

At the helm was First Officer Dana Nelson, Delta’s first Black woman pilot, hired in 2001. The theme continued with an all-black cabin crew and co-pilot Lyob Makonnen.

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This year, their final destination was NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s “Space Coast.” Once there, the students wandered around with necks craned to see towards the ceiling to gaze at the collection of historic rockets, shuttles, and simulators used in NASA missions past. The trip finished with a panel discussion hosted by OBAP aviators and astronauts on how to navigate turbulence, whether in the cockpit, or in life.

This year was the 25th edition of Delta’s Dream Flight. They’ve transported and inspired more than 4,000 students throughout that time.

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Many of these, CBS News reports, have followed their dreams born on the flight to careers as pilots, in aviation engineering, and in aerospace at large.

“My dream is to become a Delta pilot one day—and inspire others just like they inspired me,” Hayden told CBS.

WATCH the story below…