Spirit Airlines Mix-Up: Unaccompanied 6-Year-Old Boy Sent on Wrong Flight

Spirit Airlines is facing scrutiny and issuing apologies after mistakenly putting a 6-year-old boy on the wrong flight from Philadelphia to Florida. The child, intended for Fort Myers, was instead boarded on a flight to Orlando, ending up nearly 160 miles away from his family.

The incident unfolded on Thursday, leaving the child’s family in distress. Spirit Airlines stated that the child was under the care of a team member and, upon discovering the error, immediate steps were taken to communicate with the family.

The boy’s grandmother, Maria Ramos, recounted her frantic experience, insisting that the child couldn’t have missed the flight due to having the check-in tag. She approached a flight attendant, who claimed not to have any kids with her.

The child, named Casper, eventually called his grandmother upon landing in Southwest Florida International Airport, far from his intended destination. This mishap occurred during Casper’s first-ever flight.

Ramos, unsatisfied with Spirit’s offer to reimburse her for the drive, is seeking answers about how the mix-up happened. Spirit Airlines, in a statement, expressed regret and announced an internal investigation into the incident.

The airline reassured that they take the safety of all passengers seriously and apologized to the family for the distressing experience. The outcome of the internal investigation remains to be seen as the incident raises concerns about the airline’s procedures for unaccompanied minors.