A hero airline pilot and ground crew workers retrieved a customer's phone left behind at the departure gate of an airport in California.

The kind employees rushed to return the valuable device which was forgotten at the Long Beach Airport after the plane had finished boarding and was preparing for takeoff on November 13.

Footage shows the ramp agents jumping to hand over the phone to the pilot, who was seen hanging from the cockpit window of the Boeing 737.

In a statement, Southwest Airlines said: 'When our employees at Long Beach Airport noticed a customer's phone left behind in the gate area after a flight that was already boarded and pushed back from the gate, they didn't hesitate.

'They quickly passed the phone to our ramp agents, who jumped it up to the captain to get it back to the customer.'

The gadget was safely returned to the grateful owner thanks to the crew's efforts.