JetBlue passenger rubs holy oil on Florida-bound flight, video shows. ‘Bless this plane’
Before boarding a JetBlue flight, a Florida woman poured a small amount of oil into her hands and rubbed it on the plane in a cross shape, a video shows.
Captioned “In Jesus name we pray…AMEN,” the Feb. 15 video by Desiree Salter garnered over 6 million views on TikTok, emphasizing some Americans’ concerns over air travel safety in the wake of recent plane incidents.
She posted a similar video a few days later on the way back home from her trip, with the caption “we will bless this plane...again.”
“With some of these planes there’s been crashing and some weird stuff that’s going on I just wanted to pray for it and get everybody here safe, and God kept us safe,” Salter said in a Feb. 15 video.
In recent months, there have been four major aviation catastrophes, including an American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., becoming the deadliest aviation collision since 2001, the Associated Press reported.
JetBlue made national headlines in January when two people were found dead in a Florida-bound plane’s undercarriage during a post-flight inspection, CNN reported.
McClatchy News reached out to JetBlue for comment Feb. 25 but did not receive an immediate response.
Americans’ views on air travel safety
The recent string of aviation incidents may have impacted Americans’ confidence in air travel safety, according to a Feb. 19 AP-NORC poll which showed a slight dip in U.S. adults who feel safe on flights compared to last year.
Sixty-four percent of respondents said they thought planes are very or somewhat safe this year, while 71% said the same in January 2024, according to the survey of 1,112 U.S. adults conducted between Feb. 6 and 10.
Several people commented on Salter’s video, including one person who said, “at this point…I don’t blame you.”
“The way I would instantly feel safer on that flight,” another person said.
What is blessed oil used for?
For some Christians, blessed or anointing oil is used as a physical act of faith when praying for healing or protection, according to Christianity.com.
In a follow-up video, Salter said her stepfather is a pastor, and she usually keeps a bottle of oil with her.
“We are pleading the blood of Jesus all 2025,” she said. “There’s so many things that’s happening already, so we’re gonna be praying and going from there.”
