A Spirit Airlines staff member placed an unaccompanied minor on an incorrect flight this week, the airline confirmed in a Sunday statement.
The child departed Thursday from Philadelphia and was supposed to arrive in Fort Myers, Fla. Instead, the child landed in Orlando, about a three-hour drive away.
According to local news television station WINK, the child was a 6-year-old boy, Casper, traveling to meet his grandmother, Maria Ramos. It was Casper’s first time flying, Ramos told the news station.
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“They told me, ‘No, he’s not on this flight. He missed his flight.’ I said, ‘No, he could not miss his flight because I have the check-in tag,’” Ramos told the local news station. “I ran inside the plane to the flight attendant, and I asked her, ‘Where’s my grandson? He was handed over to you at Philadelphia?’ She said, ‘No, I had no kids with me.’”
Ramos told the station that her grandson then called her to let her know he landed in Orlando.
“I want them to call me. Let me know how my grandson ended up in Orlando. How did that happen? Did they get him off the plane? The flight attendant — after mom handed him with paperwork — did she let him go by himself? He jumped in the wrong plane by himself?” Ramos said to the station.
The airline has since apologized and said it is conducting an internal investigation into what happened.
“On Dec. 21, an unaccompanied child traveling from Philadelphia (PHL) to Fort Myers (RSW) was incorrectly boarded on a flight to Orlando (MCO). The child was always under the care and supervision of a Spirit Team Member, and as soon as we discovered the error, we took immediate steps to communicate with the family and reconnect them,” the statement read.
“We take the safety and responsibility of transporting all of our Guests seriously and are conducting an internal investigation. We apologize to the family for this experience.”
