6-year-old boy put on wrong flight alone, arrives in a city miles away from original destination
A child without a companion was “incorrectly boarded” onto a plane to Orlando instead of Fort Myers—cities that are 160 miles (257 km) apart—in Florida.
According to CBS News, the kid was aboard Spirit Airlines. The airline didn’t provide additional details, though its spokesperson said an internal investigation was underway.
"The child was always under the care and supervision of a Spirit Team Member,” a spokesperson is quoted as saying, “and as soon as we discovered the error, we took immediate steps to communicate with the family and reconnect them.”
CBS affiliate WINK-TV reported that the 6-year-old was visiting his grandmother, Maria Ramos, and was his first time on a plane.
Ramos said she was told her grandson missed his flight, but insisted that he did not since she has the check-in tag.
"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,'" she told WINK-TV.
Ramos got a call from her grandson later on when he was in Orlando. His luggage, however, made it to Fort Myers.
The airline apologized to the family, but Ramos is demanding an explanation regarding the incident.