An unaccompanied 6-year-old who took a Spirit Airlines flight to visit his grandmother in Fort Myers, Florida, was instead put on a flight to Orlando.
Spirit Airlines apologized to the family in an emailed statement to CNN, saying the child was scheduled to fly from Philadelphia International Airport to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers on Dec. 21.
Instead, Spirit Airlines announced that the child had been “mistakenly boarded” on a flight to Orlando.
“The child was under the care and supervision of Spirit Team members at all times and upon discovering the mistake, we immediately contacted the family and took immediate steps to re-establish contact,” the airline told CNN in a statement.
CNN affiliate WINK-TV spoke to the woman, Maria Ramos, who identified the child as her 6-year-old grandson.
Ramos panicked after the plane he was originally supposed to be on landed and his grandson was not on board, she told WINK-TV.
Ramos told WINK-TV that his grandson called him when he arrived in Orlando and drove about 260 miles from Fort Myers to pick him up.
Ramos told WINK-TV that the airline offered to reimburse him for the drive, but more importantly, he wants to know why this happened.
Spirit Airlines did not say how the mistake occurred, but said it “takes the safety and responsibility of transporting all guests seriously and is conducting an internal investigation.” I apologize to your family for going through this experience. ”