Meet Betta Nash, an 86-years-old American Airlines Flight attendant who is the oldest and longest-serving attendant in the world, according to Guinness World Records. Nash, celebrating 65 years in flight this fall, has been flying since 1957.
Nash has been loyal to the New York-Washington-Boston Shuttle. According to ABC News, Nash prefers this route because she says it allows her to be home every night with her disabled son, whom she continues to care for.
Nash said that when she started, passengers had to buy life insurance from a vending machine before they could board their flight. She also said the airline would check on her home to ensure she wasn’t living with a man because they had to be single.
“You had to be a certain height, you had to be a certain weight. It used to be horrible. You put on a few pounds, and you had to keep weighing yourself, and then if you stayed that way, they would take you off the payroll,” Nash said during a flight in 2017 with ABC affiliate WJLA cameras onboard.
“We used to pass out cigarettes and matches on the flight; after the meal service, I would go around with Kent’s and Marlboros,” she told WJLA on her 60th anniversary.
Nash continues to attend regular flight training per Federal Aviation Administration rules.
Thank you for serving us for so many years Bette Nash, we love you!
