Photo: Gerardo HuitrĂłn / E+ / Getty Images
A six-year-old boy flying by himself ended up on the wrong airplane. The boy's grandmother, Maria Ramos, told WINK that her grandson, Casper, was flying from Philadelphia, Pennslyvania, to Fort Myers, Florida, a few days before Christmas.
It was his first time flying on an airplane.
When Ramos arrived at Southwest Florida International Airport to pick up Casper, the Spirit Airlines gate attendant told her that Casper had missed the flight.
"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 asked her, 'Where's my grandson? He was handed over to you at Philadelphia?' She said, 'No, I had no kids with me.'"
While his bags made it to Fort Myers, he did not.
A short while later, Ramos received a call from Casper saying that he had just landed about three hours away in Orlando. Ramos had to leave the airport and drive to Orlando to pick up her grandson.
While Spirit Airlines offered to reimburse her for the cost of the drive, she wanted to know how the airline put him on the wrong plane.
"I want them to call me. 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?" Ramos asked.
Spirits Airlines issued a statement confirming the incident but did not say how it happened.