A kindhearted woman who paid £613 for a fellow passenger’s plane ticket has been revealed as Debbie Bolton.
The woman was travelling from Omaha, Nebraska, when she noticed the man in front of her had been told his young daughter was too old to fly for free.
Unable to stump up the money to pay for his daughter’s ticket, the man stepped aside to make a few calls and was reportedly “grabbing his head” in panic.
It was then that Bolton, who was waiting in line, offered to pay for the man’s extra ticket.
The story was shared on the Love What Matters Facebook page on 9 March, where it was liked and shared more than 162,000 times, however the kind stranger who had paid for the ticket remained unknown.
Kevin Leslie, who witnessed the events unfold, wrote: “A gentleman was checking in for his flight when the agent asked how old his daughter was. He said she had recently turned two. The agent then asked if she had a ticket.
“The man was confused because he was under the impression she could ride for free. (When he booked the ticket, she was one but her birthday was in January.) He was hit with emotion. He mentioned he couldn’t afford to rebook this flight or get her the ticket with such short notice.
“He stepped aside and tried to make a few calls. Hugging his daughter and grabbing his head, you could tell he was heartbroken. This woman next to him at the front counter heard the whole thing. She walked over to him and asked what was wrong. After they talked for a bit they walked up to the counter together.”
The woman, who has since been identified as Bolton, pointed at the man’s daughter and told the person at the check-out desk that she wanted to pay for her ticket.
After the agent clarified that the ticket would cost her $749 (£613), Bolton agreed that it was fine and pulled out her credit card.
Leslie said: “I was right there and I just said to her, ‘God bless you!’ and they printed out the ticket. The agent kept talking about her goosebumps, while the man hugged the woman and asked for her name to repay her.
“The woman just kept saying: ‘Don’t worry about it’. She knew she wanted to help that man and his daughter no matter what the cost.”
Bolton, who is the co-founder and global chief sales officer for cleaning firm Norwex, initially wanted to remain anonymous, however her friends had other plans and decided to unmask her.
Susan Holt, who works with Bolto, told MailOnline: “This is an amazing story because it’s about a woman who is amazing at her very core.”