**’Woman Claims Spectral Encounter on Ryanair Flight: Saluting Spirit Leaves Lasting Impression’**
A Derbyshire woman has described experiencing an extraordinary encounter whilst on board a Ryanair flight, insisting she saw a ghost who acknowledged her presence with a salute. Chloe Smith, 27, from Ashbourne, says her unique ability to sense spirits means they frequently appear to her—even when she’s on holiday. This latest supernatural event, she claims, took place as she travelled with her brother from East Midlands Airport to visit family in France.
According to Ms Smith, the incident occurred as she was scanning the cabin mid-flight. “I was looking around the plane when I spotted a ghost sitting beside a man, about five rows ahead,” Chloe reports. She goes on to say that the apparition seemed fully aware of her attention. “He turned and looked straight at me, as if recognising that I could see him. Instead of the usual ways spirits communicate, this one opted for a salute—a gesture of mutual recognition and, perhaps, respect.”
Ms Smith speculates about the identity of her airborne companion. She muses, “It might have been an old pilot revisiting his aircraft, or possibly a relative looking out for a nervous passenger.” Despite the initial shock, Chloe describes the encounter as oddly comforting. “You get goosebumps but also a sense of calm. It’s quite magical in its own way,” she reflects.
Not wanting to alarm her brother, Chloe decided against sharing the surreal experience during the flight. The siblings were en route to visit their parents in rural France, but, as Chloe reveals, ghostly visitations were not left behind on the plane. She recounts further spiritual episodes during their stay, beginning with a walk through the cemetery opposite her parents’ home, which she claims resulted in further psychic connections.
Her nights, apparently, were no less eventful. Chloe says she was visited by the spectral form of an elderly man in her parents’ house, a spirit she believes was unsettled by renovation works being undertaken by her father. “He wasn’t pleased with the changes,” she says. “It disrupted my sleep for days, but I don’t think he meant any harm.”
Despite these sometimes unsettling experiences, Chloe sees her abilities as a gift rather than a burden. “My connections are so strong that I often try to switch off, especially when travelling, but spirits seem to find me wherever I am,” she states. She even tells of spirits enjoying hotel stays or visiting loved ones, suggesting that these presences are not limited by location—or, it seems, even by death. “No matter where you are, from a motorway journey to lying beside a resort pool—you’re never really alone,” Chloe says.
For Chloe, her life changed dramatically following a personal loss. She credits her spiritual sensitivity to a profound awakening at her grandmother’s funeral, during which she claims to have seen her nan’s glowing figure. The experience, according to her, marked the beginning of stronger and more frequent encounters with the spirit world.
Now, Chloe sees her role as helping others, saying that her gift enables her to offer comfort and guidance not just to local residents, but to people worldwide—including celebrities. “I count myself lucky to have this connection,” she adds.
Whilst such claims inevitably attract scepticism, and remain matters of personal belief, Chloe’s story is just one of many shared by those convinced the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the departed are thinner than commonly assumed.
As stories like Chloe’s continue to circulate, the debate over spirits and the afterlife carries on—filling passenger cabins and family homes alike with unanswered questions, and leaving many to wonder what, or who, might be sitting just a few seats away.