Ghost On A Ryanair Flight Salutes Passenger Mid-Air

A Ryanair flight from the East Midlands to France took an unexpected turn when a passenger reported seeing a ghost sitting five rows ahead – and the spirit allegedly saluted her.

The experience was shared by 27-year-old Chloe Smith from Ashbourne in Derbyshire, who claims she often encounters the spirits of the dead, sometimes in the most unlikely places. On this particular flight, she described spotting a figure sitting next to a fellow passenger.

Chloe said, "I was looking around the plane when I saw it – a ghost sat beside a gentleman a few rows ahead. He looked back at me and, instead of trying to use me to communicate like spirits usually do, he just saluted. It felt like he was acknowledging me – giving a little nod of respect, but also letting me know that he knew I could see him."

She described the moment as "magical" and speculated on who the ghost might have been. "Maybe he was there for a nervous family member, or maybe he used to fly that exact aircraft. It's hard to say."

Chloe didn't tell her brother at the time – he was sitting nearby on the same flight. "He already thinks I'm strange," she joked, "but moments like that do leave you with goosebumps, even though they also bring a weird sense of calm."

After arriving in France, the ghostly activity didn't stop. Chloe says she felt the presence of spirits in the cemetery across the road from her parents' house and also sensed an older man in the home itself. "He wasn't happy with my dad doing work on the house," she explained. "He meant well, but I couldn't sleep for days."

Chloe might not be the only one who's had ghostly run-ins while in transit. Travel seems to be a hotspot for paranormal sightings.

One of the most well-known cases occurred in the aftermath of the 1972 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crash in the Florida Everglades. Salvaged parts from the wrecked aircraft were reused in other planes, and in the months that followed, multiple passengers and crew members reported seeing the ghosts of Captain Bob Loft and Flight Engineer Don Repo.

In one chilling account, Repo's apparition told a mechanic, "You don't need to worry about the pre-flight, I've already done it," before vanishing. The ghosts are said to have spoken and even warned of danger, seemingly trying to prevent further disasters.

Airports too have their share of ghost stories. At Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, built on former cemetery land, staff reported a spirit called Poo Ming, or the "Blue Man." During the airport's opening ceremony, a baggage handler reportedly became possessed and introduced himself, through a different voice, as the guardian of the old graveyard. Since then, people have claimed to see a bluish figure wandering the terminal – a ghost who made his presence known from the very start.

Meanwhile, travellers at Honolulu International Airport have long reported a figure known as the Lady in Waiting. Dressed in white, with long blonde hair, she's said to be the ghost of a woman who took her own life after her fiancé failed to return from an overseas trip. She's often seen peering out of windows at the runway or wandering terminal corridors, making eye contact with startled passengers before vanishing. Airport staff have even reported disturbances linked to her, such as slamming doors and unexplainable cold spots.

Even runways aren't free from ghostly figures. At Savannah–Hilton Head Airport in Georgia, two marked graves still sit beside an active runway. Pilots have reported seeing the transparent figures of an elderly man and woman believed to be the Dotsons, whose tombstones remain on the tarmac. Witnesses have described the ghosts nodding at planes or gesturing to ground crew, a quiet but unmistakable acknowledgement of those passing through what was once their land.

Whether or not you believe in ghostly passengers on planes or haunted airports, Chloe's story is a reminder that the paranormal isn't always something you encounter in creepy old houses and ancient castles. Even at 30,000 feet, you might be closer to a spook than you'd imagine.