Most travelers would be thrilled to touch down in Barbados.
Unfortunately for JetBlue Airways passenger Azizgul Hussainzada, she wasn't looking for a vacation. Instead, she thought she would be landing at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport before catching a connecting flight to Rochester, New York.
Hussainzada was heading home from visiting her daughter in Oakland, California, when she was put on the wrong flight, despite not having the proper boarding pass, according to CBS New York.
"When she got off in Barbados, she thought that she was in Rochester," said the woman's son, Noorullah Maqsoodi. "And she was like, what happened to Rochester? This looks a lot different."
But even in May, one would be hard-pressed to mistake Rochester for the eastern Caribbean, and Hassainzada knew something was wrong when she was asked for her "papers" upon landing, according to Patrice Walsh of WHAM ABC 13.
The mishap has been attributed to a language barrier. Hussainzada requested boarding assistance in Oakland, but doesn't speak English.
Nonetheless, Maqsoodi commented to CBS New York that JetBlue "told us that she's in JFK waiting for her flight" when asked about Hussainzada's whereabouts. "But she was in Barbados," said Maqsoodi.
"That's what's really puzzling is the fact that she didn't have a boarding pass and how she managed to get on an international flight and fly out of the country," said Maqsoodi.
JetBlue apologized for the inconvenience and refunded Hussainzada's airfare.
"...Upon discovery of the issue, JetBlue crewmembers in the air and on the ground did everything possible to comfort and assist Ms. Hussainzada and to expedite her return to her family," said the airline in a statement via Walsh. "We are now in the process of connecting with Ms. Hussainzada's family to provide further assistance and support."
The airline is now looking into the incident to see how Hussainzada was able to board an international flight without the required documents.
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