6-year-old flying alone ends up on wrong Spirit Airlines flight
Boy, 6, traveling from Philadelphia to southwest Florida ends up in Orlando
A 6-year-old boy's first time on a plane did not go as expected.
The child, named Casper, was headed from Philadelphia to Florida, but his grandmother told WINK-TV that Spirit Airlines put him on the wrong flight.
"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 said. "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.'"
Casper, who was supposed to be at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, then called his grandmother to say he had landed. His bag made it to the right airport, but he was discovered to be just under three hours away in Orlando.
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The boy was in Orlando, Florida, rather than his intended destination of Fort Myers. (iStock / iStock)
Spirit Airlines reportedly offered to reimburse the grandmother for her drive northwest to pick up Casper, but she said she wants to know how her grandson ended up 167 miles away from his intended destination.
"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?" Ramos asked WINK-TV. She wondered if the flight attendant the boy's mother gave him to let the child wander off, resulting him getting on the wrong plane.
Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-271N takes off from Los Angeles international Airport on July 30, 2022. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images / Getty Images)
A Spirit Airlines spokesman told the media outlet the child was incorrectly boarded on a flight to Orlando on Dec. 21, but that he "was always under the care and supervision of a Spirit Team Member." The airline added that as soon as the error was discovered, they took immediate steps to reconnect the family members.
"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," the statement read.
Air traffic control tower at Philadelphia International Airport, the airport 6-year-old Casper left from while heading to Florida. (John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Children 5 to 14 years old must travel as an unaccompanied minor when not traveling with someone at least 15 years old, Spirit Airlines' website states. Unaccompanied minors are only accepted on direct flights.
The airline's policy says that in these cases, the person accompanying the child to the airport should get a gate pass, go with the child all the way to the gate and then wait there until 15 minutes after the flight takes off.