A recent incident involving Spirit Airlines has come to light: a six-year-old boy, Casper, was mistakenly placed on a flight that took him hundreds of miles from his intended destination, WINK News reported.
The mishap occurred during Casper's first flight, as he was traveling to meet his grandmother, Maria Ramos, in Southwest Florida.
Maria Ramos described the ordeal as one of the scariest experiences of her life.
"They told me," Ramos says," '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.'"
"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.'"
It was later revealed that Casper ended up in Orlando instead of arriving at Fort Myers as planned. Adding to the confusion, Casper's luggage was correctly sent to Fort Myers (RSW).
Spirit Airlines has reportedly offered to reimburse Ramos for the cost of traveling to Orlando to retrieve her grandson. However, Ramos expressed that her only interest is understanding how the mix-up occurred.
"I want them to call me," Ramos adds. "Let me know how my grandson ended up in Orlando. How did that happen? Did they get him off the plane? The flight attendant — after mom handed him with paperwork — did she let him go by himself? He jumped in the wrong plane by himself?"
In response to the incident, Michael Lopardi of Spirit Airlines issued a statement to WINK News:
"On Dec. 21, an unaccompanied child traveling from Philadelphia (PHL) to Fort Myers (RSW) was incorrectly boarded on a flight to Orlando (MCO). 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," the statement read. It further emphasized the airline's commitment to safety and responsibility in transporting guests and mentioned that an internal investigation is underway. The airline also extended an apology to the family for the distress caused by this experience.