A 6-year-old boy enroute to meeting his grandmother was put on a wrong flight by the Spirit Airline crew. The boy, a first-time flier, was slated to meet his grandmom in Florida.
Speaking to WINK-TV, the grandmother 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.’”
She also expressed anger at the lack of information from the airline. "I want them to call me [and] let me know how my grandson ended up in Orlando," she noted, adding, “How did that happen? Did they get him off the plane? The flight attendant — after mom handed him with paperwork — did she let him go by himself? He jumped in the wrong plane by himself?"
The grandchild called after landing to let her know he'd arrived in Orlando - 160 miles away from the destination.
Apologising for the mistake, the airline said "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. We apologise to the family for this experience."
They have also offered to reimburse them for the drive.
As per the airline, the child was travelling from the Philadelphia International Airport to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers on Thursday. However, the airline noted the child had been 'incorrectly boarded' on the Orlando-bound plane.
Published 26 December 2023, 04:50 IST