Spirit Airlines has confirmed the termination of the gate agent responsible for placing an unaccompanied minor on the incorrect Florida flight a few weeks ago. The child, identified by his family as a 6-year-old boy named Casper was supposed to travel from Philadelphia to Fort Myers on December 21.
However, he mistakenly boarded a flight to Orlando instead, as confirmed by the airline. Following an investigation, it was determined that a gate agent in Philadelphia had escorted Casper to the wrong aircraft.
In response, Spirit stated, “This agent is no longer working with Spirit, and any individual whose actions resulted in the incorrect boarding will be held accountable for failing to follow our procedures.”
The airline further stated, “We are also reiterating our procedures to the team, and we are communicating with the child’s family about this matter.”
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The incident occurred amid a record-breaking holiday travel rush, described by AAA as the “busiest air travel season ever.” Casper’s grandmother, Maria Ramos, awaited him at the airport.
She disclosed earlier this week on “Good Morning America” that his luggage arrived in Fort Myers, but there was no sign of him. Ramos said, “They told me, ‘No, he’s not on this flight; he missed his flight.'”
She mentioned speaking to a flight attendant who informed her that no children were on the flight. Shortly afterward, Casper called her from Orlando, 150 miles away, and told her he was at the airport.
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Ramos expressed her concerns, saying, “I want them to call me and let me know how my grandson ended up in Orlando; how did that happen?” She continued, “I keep thinking about, how about if somebody would have stolen my grandson.”
Social media users held divergent views on the occurrence. One person stated, “A parent just needs to ask, and they will be issued something that looks like a boarding pass to allow them through security to take their minor child to the gate.”
While another remarked, “All airlines should make the rule that no one under 16 can travel without an adult. So, someone gets fired because of lousy parents. Not right. Would those parents send their kids out to play by themselves at 3 in the morning? They would.”
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In a similar vein, another person expressed the opinion that “When a ‘parent’ sends their kid alone to travel and something happens to that kid, the parents should be arrested and charged with child neglect. I just can’t see a real parent doing this.”
Meanwhile, others criticized Spirit Airlines. One person shared, “We used to send the kids to their grandparents in Hawaii every summer unaccompanied.
However, we would walk them to the gate, and then they were turned over to a flight attendant who watched over them until their grandmother picked them up in Honolulu. That was the old Hawaiian Airlines that was run right. I cannot imagine doing the same with Spirit, Frontier, or others of that stripe.”
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