At least two passengers believe they have been given a second chance at life after missing the fatal Ethiopian Airlines flight that killed everyone onboard after the Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed shortly after takeoff.

Just two minutes can make a difference to someone’s fate, Antonis Mavropoulos discovered this weekend after arriving late at the gate, preventing him from boarding the doomed flight. “I could see people boarding. I was very angry they didn’t let me in,” he told Greece’s ALPHA TV, recalling how his fury disappeared after he was told that the brand new Boeing 737 MAX had crashed just six minutes after takeoff.

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After the initial shock of hearing the news, the Greek man came to realize that it was his “lucky day.”

“I’m grateful to live and that I have so many friends that made me feel their love,” he said in a lengthy Facebook post.

Mavropoulos was not the only passenger who was thanking his lucky stars on Sunday. Ahmed Khalid also missed his flight to Nairobi, after his connecting flight from Dubai to Addis Ababa was delayed.

Passenger Ahmed Khalid (L) who missed his Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 while connecting from Dubai is received by his father Khalid Bzambur (R) at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, Kenya. #EthiopianAirlineshttps://t.co/SV4OOrI1bnpic.twitter.com/4U0wKxCnpIpic.twitter.com/tsIEohYGF5 — Abdulaziz Haji (@abdulazizhaji09) March 10, 2019

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