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Spirit Airlines accidentally recreated a Home Alone situation (in reverse) by sending a six-year-old unaccompanied minor to Orlando International Airport (MCO) versus his intended destination of Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW). Luckily, the boy and his grandmother (who was picking him up) were reunited for the holidays.
The little boy named, Casper, boarded his first-ever flight from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) on December 21st. He was hoping to reach his grandmother in Fort Myers at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), but ended up at Orlando International Airport (MCO), which is around 166 miles north. Maria Ramos was anxiously waiting at the gate for her grandson, but he never deplaned.
Ramos broke security protocols and rushed onto the plane to see if her grandson was there. A flight attendant informed her that there were no unaccompanied minors onboard. As she frantically searched, her phone rang. Casper called his grandmother to tell her that he was in Orlando. She then made the four-hour drive to pick him up.
While Spirit Airlines has agreed to pay the cost of the gas used to pick up Casper, the low-cost carrier has not yet explained how he ended up on the wrong flight in the first place.
A spokesperson for Spirit said in a statement:
On December 21st, an unaccompanied child traveling from Philadelphia to Fort Myers was incorrectly boarded on a flight to Orlando. 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 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.”
Anthony’s Take: I’m not sure how a gate agent would not see a discrepancy in the passenger count or why the boarding pass did not produce an error when scanned, but thankfully this situation ended up okay.
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