Filipino Flight Attendant Ken Ortega Shares His Unforgettable Encounter With Angelina Jolie on a Flight to Manila
A Filipino airline crew member is still on cloud nine after Hollywood star Angelina Jolie turned out to be one of the passengers on a flight he was working on, and he even walked away with her autograph.
Cabin crew member Ken Ortega went viral on Tuesday after he shared the experience on Instagram, posting a photo of his phone signed by the actress. “DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?! Still processing the fact that Angelina Jolie became a passenger on a flight I was in!” he wrote, as reported by GMA Entertainment.
Ken said the actress looked exactly as she does on screen. “Ang ganda niya in person, same in TV and movies. Facecard sobraaaa,” he shared. He also described her as kind and graceful, noting that she kept full eye contact while he introduced himself and tried his best to act normal.
He even recalled the short message he managed to tell her, mentioning that he had watched “Tomb Raider,” “Salt,” “Maleficent” and many of her other films. According to Daily Tribune, Jolie answered with a warm smile and a thank you. Ken admitted he almost asked for a photo and nearly cried, calling it a flight to remember.
In a separate post, Ken explained why there was no selfie. Aside from wanting to stay professional in a work setting, he said the crew did not want to disturb the actress, who spent most of the trip resting and sleeping. He added that even small details stood out to him, like how gracefully she drank her tea, GMA News reported.
Jolie arrived in Manila on Tuesday as one of the featured speakers at the ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit, an event that gathers leaders from different sectors to discuss economic growth and development in Southeast Asia. Apart from her film career, she is known for her humanitarian work, having served as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador from 2001 to 2012 and later as its Special Envoy until 2022.
For Ken, an ordinary day at work turned into a story he will surely be telling for years, proving that sometimes the most memorable moments happen in the air.
