Unaccompanied 6 year old child put on wrong Spirit Airlines flight

A child traveling alone from Philadelphia to Fort Myers was mistakenly placed on a flight to Orlando, as stated by a Spirit Airlines representative on Sunday.

The error occurred on Thursday, and despite the proximity of the two Florida cities, about 160 miles apart, the airline did not disclose further information regarding the child or the circumstances surrounding the mix-up.

The spokesperson mentioned that an internal investigation is currently in progress.

“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 airline spokesperson said. 

WINK-TV, a CBS affiliate, has identified the young passenger as a 6-year-old boy who was visiting his grandmother, Maria Ramos. According to Ramos, this flight marked the child’s inaugural experience on an airplane.

“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,'” Ramos 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.'”

Ramos received a call from her grandson, informing her that he had landed several hours away from Fort Myers, as reported by WINK-TV.

Although the boy arrived in Orlando, his luggage was mistakenly sent to Fort Myers. A spokesperson from Spirit Airlines expressed apologies to the family for the inconvenience.