Woman Goes Viral for Using Holy Oil to Bless Plane Before Boarding, Sparking Mixed Reactions from Travelers

Mar. 15, 2025

Woman uses holy oil to bless plane before boarding.Photo:Desiree Salter/TikTok

Desiree Salter/TikTok

A plane passenger is taking extra precautions to give her some peace of mind before flying — but not everyone agrees with her actions.

On Feb. 15, TikTok userDesiree Saltershared her pre-boarding ritual in a short clip that has since gone viral, racking up 5.7 million views as of Friday.

In the video, she is seen holding a small bottle filled with what she tells PEOPLE is “Holy oil or blessed oil” to draw a cross on the outside of the plane before boarding. She can be seen tilting the bottle until some of the oil pours onto her finger, then marking the symbol on both sides of the cabin door.

Once she completes the action, she looks back at the camera and taps the bottle before entering the aircraft.

“In Jesus name we pray… AMEN!!” she captioned the video, along with a prayer hands emoji.

“At this point… I don’t blame you,” one person commented, seemingly referring to the multipleaviation incidentsthat have occurredin recent weeks.Another added, “Nah frfr… gotta stay prayed up… cuz these planes been tripping lately.”

One person found the practice to be comforting despite not being religious.

Echoing a similar sentiment, others added how seeing someone bless the plane before boarding would make them feel better about their flight.

Her post did garner backlash from other viewers, however, with some noting it’s the aviation professionals that get a plane safely to its destination, and they deserve the credit.

“Because y’all posting like Oil really did it. It was the pilot and maintenance staff,” one person wrote. Another added, “The pilot that has to fly the plane and get it from a [to] b safely.”

Aftermath of Delta crash landing in Toronto.GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty

GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty

Salter’s videos come after multiple recent plane accidents that havesparked anxiety among many travelers.

On Jan. 29,American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopteras it prepared to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. causing a massive explosion and both aircraft to crash into the Potomac River. There were no survivors.

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More recently, Delta Flight 4819crash-landed and rolled upside downat Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Monday, Feb. 17.  All 80 people on board were successfully evacuated. Twenty-one were injured but all had been released from the hospital as of Thursday, Feb. 20.

While both incidents were horrifying, pilots and other aviation professionals confirm that flying is still the safest way to travel. In the U.S. alone, there are 45,000 flights per day, carrying 2.9 million passengers, according to the FAA.

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And when accidents do happen, they tend to spark improvements to safety measures, according to Michael McCabe, an air traffic controller who works out of Chicago O’Hare International Airport and recentlyspoke with PEOPLE about coping with flight anxiety.

“The aviation community is an interesting community in that we talk about accidents and incidents, things that didn’t happen and how they could happen all the time,” he says. “We are always focused on changing rules, adapting and figuring out ways so that we don’t ever come close to something like the [D.C. incident] again.”

He adds, “Every time something happens, we get safer.”

source: people.com