British Airways Surprises Mom with Free Visit from Son She Hasn’t Seen in Years

Call your Mom…

…or better yet, go visit her, already. At least that's what British Airways is hoping you'll do after seeing this amazingly touching viral ad video they've put out. The video tells the story of a young man named Ratnesh, who left India at 17 to make his dreams come true in New York. While things appear to have been going well for him, in all the years since, he hasn't once managed to make his way home to visit his mom. But with a little help from the U.K.-based airline, Ratnesh was able to surprise Mom back home in Mumbai.

You see, Mom thought that British Airways had made arrangements for her to cook, and the airline to deliver, her son's favorite okra dish in a bid to tempt him to finally come home to visit. But she thought the dish would ride in a seat of its own all the way to New York City, not knowing that the real seat was headed in the opposite direction — and in it was Ratnesh himself.

In one of the final scenes of the beautifully shot and narrated spot, we see Ratnesh observing his mother in the kitchen from a production monitor, in a way he had "never seen her before." He says, "She looks lonely." But the loneliness doesn't last long, as Ratnesh slips into the kitchen, and with the two of them hidden from the camera, we simply hear the very emotional reunion.

Cue the Kleenex.