A 6-year-old child traveling unaccompanied on Spirit Airlines to visit his grandmother in Fort Myers, Florida, found himself on a flight to Orlando instead.
Spirit Airlines issued an apology to the family in an emailed statement to CNN, explaining that on December 21, the child was scheduled to fly from Philadelphia International Airport to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. However, due to an error, the child was “incorrectly boarded” on a plane heading to Orlando.
The airline assured that the child was always under the care and supervision of a Spirit Team Member. Once the error was discovered, immediate steps were taken to communicate with the family and facilitate their reunion, according to the statement provided to CNN.
Maria Ramos, the woman identified as the child’s grandmother, spoke to CNN affiliate WINK-TV. When the plane the child was supposed to be on landed without him, Ramos experienced panic. She received a call from her grandson after he landed in Orlando, prompting a nearly 160-mile drive from Fort Myers to pick him up.
While the airline offered to reimburse them for the drive, Ramos emphasized the need to understand why the incident occurred.
Spirit Airlines did not address how the mistake occurred but said they “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.”
