A six-year-old boy who was flying alone from Philadelphia to Florida ended up in the wrong part of the Sunshine State.
The boy was supposed to be flying to Southwest International Airport in Fort Myers. Spirit Airlines admitted they put him on the wrong flight and it landed instead in Orlando.
It was his first time flying, much less flying alone.
He was visiting his grandmother.
"They told me, ‘No, he’s not on this flight. He missed his flight.’ I said, ‘No, he could not miss his flight because I have the check-in tag," 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.' "
The boy, Casper, then called his grandmother and told her he had landed.
But Fort Myers is approximately 160 miles from Orlando.
His bag made it to Fort Myers, but Casper did not. His grandmother made the three-hour drive north to get him in Orlando. Spirit Airlines did offer to reimburse the grandmother.
Unaccompanied minors are allowed to fly, but they are usually in the custody of an airline employee.
"I want them to call me. Let me know how my grandson ended up in Orlando. How did that happen? Did they get him off the plane?" the grandmother said.
Spirit said in a statement that Casper was incorrectly boarded on the wrong flight but "was always under the care and supervision of a Spirit Team Member. … 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."
Casper and his grandmother did reunite.
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