A delayed flight and lost bag almost ruined an airport proposal that took a month to plan

• A delayed flight and a lost bag almost ruined an airport proposal in Auckland, New Zealand. 
• But Yashraj Chhabra was able to ask Riiya Shukla to marry him exactly as he planned for a month. 
• "It was pretty magical," Shukla told CNN of the proposal. 

While Yashraj Chhabra was waiting on one knee, ring in hand, at the Auckland airport, his soon-to-be fiancée, Riiya Shukla, was stressing about her lost luggage.

Shukla, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, travels often to Auckland to visit Chhabra, her long-distance then-boyfriend. But this particular trip was both more stressful and more exciting than the usual quick flight, CNN reported.

That's because when she arrived at the Auckland airport, Shukla was going to be met with a marriage proposal.

But Shukla's August 18 flight was canceled, according to CNN. She was thankfully rebooked later that day for the commuter flight but almost missed the trip due to heavy traffic. Then, when she arrived in New Zealand, she realized her luggage was missing.

That didn't deter Chhabra, who told CNN it took him a month to plan the perfect airport proposal. He said that when he was thinking of the best way to pop the question, he immediately thought of his then-girlfriend's favorite films — Bollywood classics that often ended with the couple coming together at the airport.

"The actress is leaving. The actor would run to the airport [to stop her], and they will live happily ever after," Chhabra told CNN.

Plus, since they were long-distance, airports played a massive role in bringing the couple together from time to time, too, Chhabra said, according to CNN.

Chhabra called on Shukla's family — and his own — to join him at the airport when she arrived. He would be on one knee with the family standing behind him.

He painstakingly searched online for someone at the airport who could help him and eventually found Laura Platts, the Auckland Airport communications manager, according to CNN.

Platts helped bring Chhabra's other big idea to life: Proposing to Shukla via the airport PA system.

Auckland Airport did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Despite the intense planning and stressing over details — which Chhabra told CNN was totally worth it — when Shukla disembarked, she had no idea what was ahead.

According to CNN, Shukla was ready to complain about her lost luggage at a customer service counter, but her family members relentlessly called her and begged her to meet them in the arrivals hall. Finally, she conceded.

"I was under shock," Shukla told CNN of what she saw when she got to the arrivals hall.

According to a video of the proposal posted by Auckland airport, Chhabra was on one knee, holding an engagement ring. Behind him, their family members held signs that spelled out "Will you marry me?" A pre-recording of his proposal message to her played over the loudspeaker.

"Attention Riiya Shukla, you are hearing my voice because I really need to talk to you," Chhabra read over the loudspeaker, according to the video of the proposal.

"Every minute that we have spent together has been the most amazing moments of my life. So I have something really important to ask you. Will you marry me?" Chhabra asked.

Shukla said yes and Chhabra placed the ring on her finger.

"I tend to get lost in his eyes and as romantic as this sounds, it's actually true. I do. For a while, it just felt like it was just us. Then, all of our family and friends came and they all hugged us," Shukla told CNN. "It was pretty magical."