American airline mistakenly sends solo 6-year-old to wrong destination

An aircraft of the American carrier Spirit Airlines. Photo from Spirt Airlines’ Instagram

The incident occurred on Dec. 21 when Casper, the young traveler, was handed over to a Spirit Airlines attendant in Philadelphia by his mother, reported The Straits Times. He was scheduled to arrive in Florida, where his grandmother Maria Ramos was eagerly waiting.

However, upon reaching the airport, Ramos was informed that her grandson had not been on the intended flight, despite his luggage arriving at the destination. A query to a flight attendant confirmed that no children were aboard that flight.

The situation became clearer when Casper called his grandmother, revealing that he had instead landed in Orlando. Following this revelation, Spirit Airlines acknowledged the error and offered to reimburse Ramos for the cost of traveling to Orlando to collect Casper.

Despite this, Ramos sought a detailed explanation from the airline about how her grandson was sent to the wrong airport, particularly after being entrusted to the airline staff with the necessary documentation.

In response to the incident, Spirit Airlines issued a statement confirming that they were investigating the matter. They assured that Casper was under their staff’s supervision throughout and apologized for the mix-up and the inconvenience it caused the family.

Still, having experienced this unexpected journey, Casper expressed his hesitation to travel alone again.

According to the New York Post, the US Federal Aviation Administration identified Dec. 21 as one of the busiest travel days of the year, with nearly 50,000 flights operating across the United States.