11-year-old crushed to find Delta museum closed on birthday gets surprise airport tour

One of Delta’s biggest fans got a surprise behind-the-scenes tour after the pandemic shut down his birthday plans.

Delta employee David Bostater shared the sweet story on LinkedIn.

Eleven-year-old Matthew is a big aviation fan and even runs his own Instagram account on model planes.

Last week, Matthew, his mother and his grandmother drove all the way from Miami to Atlanta just to go to the Delta Flight Museum on Matthew’s birthday.

[SPECIAL SECTION: Coronavirus Pandemic in Georgia]

Sadly, when they got there, they found that the museum was closed due to the pandemic.

The family was disappointed, but decided to sit in the atrium of the airport for the afternoon so that Matthew could at least have some time to appreciate the planes before they drove home the next day.

“Luckily, they met one of Delta’s remarkable agents (Diane) in the lobby, who saw the opportunity to make something special happen for Matthew and reached out to our team,” Bostater wrote.

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Bostater, who works in reservations, said he knew that he could not let Matthew leave without getting to really experience the airport.

“Being an aviation fan myself, I knew the impact this moment could have on Matthew’s passion for aviation and decided to give Matthew and his family a private tour of the Atlanta airport as a birthday treat,” Bostater said.

Matthew got to tour Tech Ops, walk on the tarmac, see his favorite plane (the 717), the newly refurbished DC-7B and Delta’s newest plane, the A220. He and Bostater wore their masks and kept a good distance from each other, but Matthew got an up-close look at the planes.

“Matthew was in aviation heaven,” Bostater wrote. “During the tour, Matthew showcased his Delta knowledge by calling out aircraft types, current routes, and much more. He even gave his personal seal of approval over Delta.”

Bostater said that he was just glad to be able to help Matthew celebrate his birthday right.

“The pandemic has affected a lot, but the opportunity to make Matthew’s birthday special was an honor and that I will always remember,” Bostater said.

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