OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
11:46 AM – Sunday, December 24, 2023
A six-year-old boy was flown hundreds of miles away from his family after a Spirit Airlines staff member placed him on the wrong plane.
Spirit Airlines released a statement on Sunday apologizing after a staff member accidentally placed an unaccompanied minor on the wrong flight.
“On December 21st, 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,” Spirit Airlines said in a statement. “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.”
On Thursday, six-year-old Casper, whose full identity has not been released, was supposed to fly from Philadelphia International Airport to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.
However, Casper was “incorrectly boarded” on a plane that flew to Orlando, which is about a three hour drive away from where he was supposed to land.
The six-year-old was traveling to meet his grandmother, Maria Ramos, in Southwest Florida. It was also the boy’s first time flying.
Ramos made a statement to the press explaining the situation and revealed extreme worry for her six-year-old grandson.
“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 press. “I ran inside the plane to the flight attendant, and I asked her, ‘Where’s my grandson? He was handed over to you in Philadelphia?’ She said, ‘No, I had no kids with me.’”
Fortunately, Ramos stated that her grandson then called her to notify her that he ended up landing 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 paperwork — did she let him go by himself? He jumped in the wrong plane by himself?” Ramos said to the press.
Spirit Airlines stated that it is overseeing an internal investigation into what occurred.
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