The boy was “mis-boarded” on a flight to Orlando, four hours from his intended destination.
An unaccompanied 6-year-old boy flying to Florida to visit his grandmother for the first time was put on the wrong Spirit Airlines flight, the New York Post reported. The child was scheduled to fly from Philadelphia International Airport to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers on Thursday. However, the boy was “mistakenly boarded” on a flight to Orlando, four hours from his scheduled destination.
In an emailed statement to CNN, Spirit Airlines apologized to the family. “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 airline said in a statement CNN.
The statement did not address how the error occurred, but a spokesman said an internal investigation was ongoing.
The child's grandmother, Maria Ramos, told Wink News of her ordeal, saying she panicked when her grandson didn't get off the plane in Fort Myers.
“They told me, 'No, he's not on that flight.' 'He missed his flight.' I said, 'No, he couldn't miss his flight because it's my check-in day.' I ran into the plane to the flight attendant and asked her, 'Where is my grandson?' He was handed over to you in Philadelphia?' She said, “No, I didn't have any children with me,” Ms. Ramos said.
The boy later called her to tell her he had landed safely. His luggage also arrived successfully in Fort Myers as planned. Ms. Ramos then made a four-hour drive to pick up the six-year-old, saying the mishap was one of the most terrifying experiences of her life. Spirit Airlines offered to reimburse Ms. Ramos for the cost of the trip, but she wants to know the reason for the miss.
“I want them to call me. Tell me how my grandson ended up in Orlando. How did that happen? Did they get him off the plane? After Mom handed him the papers, the flight attendant wondered if she let him go alone and he jumped on the wrong plane alone? said Ms. Ramos.
The airline said the boy was supervised throughout.
“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 reunite them,” Spirit said.
“We take the safety and responsibility of transporting all of our guests seriously and are conducting an international investigation.” “We apologize to the family for this experience,” the statement continued.