Spirit Airlines refuses to allow a Puerto Rican family to fly from Los Angeles to Puerto Rico because their infant did not have a passport, even though the destination is in the United States
- A Puerto Rican family traveling from Los Angeles to visit relatives in US territory were denied boarding after being told they needed a passport
- The Roman Torres family was told they could not board the Spirit Airline flight to the island because their toddler did not have a US passport
- The family tried to explain that Puerto Rico was a US territory and the flight was not international, but the staff wouldn’t listen; The family decided to travel with JetBlue
A Puerto Rican family traveling from Los Angeles to visit relatives on the island were denied boarding on their Spirit Airlines flight because their infant did not have a US passport – even though the destination was classified as a domestic flight.
The frustrating incident took place at Los Angeles International Airport on April 25, when Marivi Roman Torres, along with her husband Luis and their two-year-old son Alejandro, were about to travel to Puerto Rico to visit relatives
When we reached the check-in counter, an officer asked for the family’s passports.
The Torres family explained that Puerto Rico is a US territory that does not require a passport to enter.
The Puerto Rican Roman Torres family, who were traveling from Los Angeles to visit relatives in Puerto Rico, were denied boarding after being told they needed a passport
The Puerto Rican family, who were traveling from Los Angeles to visit relatives in Puerto Rico, were denied boarding after being told they needed a passport but their infant did not have one
“First she told me it was an international flight,” Roman Torres told CBS News. “I told her, no, Puerto Rico is not a different country. It’s a US territory.”
Both Luis and Marivi had their passports and handed them over, but when asked for their young son’s ID, they explained that the child did not have one.
The family were told they would not be able to travel and were given the option of either a refund or rescheduling their flight once they received a passport for their child.
The family asked to speak to a manager, but their demands were essentially ignored as the trio faced employees who lacked flexibility and empathy for their situation.
The family tried to explain to the check-in staff that Puerto Rico was a US territory and the flight was not international, but the staff wouldn’t listen; The family decided to travel with JetBlue
“Is there anyone else I can talk to? Can we call customer service together?’ Torres begged the check-in staff.
“There was no empathy. “There were only walls,” she explained.
Feeling at a loss, the family went to a neighboring JetBlue counter, which confirmed that no passport of any kind was required to enter US territory.
Puerto Ricans are US citizens and the island of Puerto Rico is not an international travel destination.
Although last minute tickets were much more expensive, the family decided to purchase a new set of tickets from JetBlue to ensure they could reach the island that same evening.
The family finally decided to fly on JetBlue and managed to arrive on the same day, despite having to pay more for their tickets
Spirit Airlines, which operates about 25 daily flights to three Puerto Rico destinations, has since apologized to the family and acknowledged that a new agent at LAX misunderstood identification requirements.
“In this particular case, an agent at LAX who is new to the position misunderstood the identification requirements. “We provide additional coaching to the agent and reaffirm the proper course of action,” the airline said in a statement.
The airline refunded their original tickets and issued them future travel vouchers, although the family said they had no intention of traveling on the airline again.
“I don’t feel like I’m going to book with Spirit anymore.” “I think my faith in something that shouldn’t have happened has been broken,” she said.