New Zealand Airport Cooperates with Airport Announcement Proposal and Surprise Engagement- CNN.co.jp

Published on Thursday 2023.08.31 at 18:00 JST

(CNN) When New Zealand resident Yashraj Chavra decided to propose to his girlfriend Liya Shukla, his first thought was his favorite Indian Bollywood movie.

“Eight out of ten couples in Bollywood movies get married at the airport,” Chabra told CNN Travel. “Where the woman was leaving, the man ran to the airport (stopped her) and they lived happily ever after.”

Shukla, also from New Zealand, now lives in Melbourne, Australia, and is a government employee in the state of Victoria. She had a long-distance relationship with Chabra.

So Mr. Chabra hatched a plan. He greeted Shukla at Auckland Airport, New Zealand, got down on one knee and handed him a ring.

I have another idea. The original idea was to propose to Shukla through the airport announcement, but for this, a plan needs to be made with the cooperation of the airport staff.

Chabra spent a month planning the proposal.

Chabra reached out to every airport employee he could find by phone and social media messages, eventually reaching Oakland Airport spokeswoman Laura Platts.

With the cooperation of Mr. Platts, we arranged for cake and flower preparation, attendance of both families, and professional photography. Mr Chabra recorded his proposal and played it on the airport radio. However, the tense atmosphere did not subside easily, and after eight attempts, I was finally able to record successfully.

The whole preparation process took a month.

Unaware of this, Shukla thought he would arrive in New Zealand as usual.

Then came August 18th.

Shukla’s scheduled flight was canceled and she was diverted to another flight that day. What’s more, I was stuck in traffic, nearly missed my flight, and ran through security to board the plane before the gates closed.

Yashraj Chavra proposes to Liya Shukla

When Shukla arrived in Auckland, he found his parcel hadn’t arrived and went to the service counter to apply. However, I kept receiving calls from my family, advising me to forget about my luggage and go to the arrival hall, and I finally agreed.

Chabra is there. The family gathered behind Chabra, who knelt on one knee and held up the words “Will you marry me?” From the radio at the airport, Mr. Chabra’s voice could be heard making the proposal.

Mr. Shukla said his hair had turned white. “It seemed so romantic, but it was true. For a while, it felt like it was just the two of us. Then all the family and friends hugged us. It was like magic.”

For Chabra, this was the moment weeks of planning and behind-the-scenes drama paid off.

Both the Chhabra and Shukla families are from India and plan to get married there.

Airport Announcement Proposal, New Zealand Airports Fully Cooperate