Mix-Up Sends 6-Year-Old on the Wrong Flight

A 6-year-old boy accidentally boarded the wrong flight on the American airline Spirit Airlines, landing about 270 kilometers from his intended destination.

During the peak travel season, young Casper was meant to travel alone from Philadelphia to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. When the plane landed, his family realized Casper was missing. His grandmother, Maria Ramos, recounted: "They told me, 'He's not on this flight. He missed his flight.' I insisted, 'No way he missed it, I have his check-in tag.' I rushed onto the plane and asked the flight attendant, 'Where is my grandson? Didn't he board in Philadelphia?' She responded, 'No ma'am, there were no kids at check-in.'"

This was Casper's first solo flight, which ended up directing him mistakenly to Orlando International Airport, 268 kilometers from Fort Myers. Maria drove for hours to pick up her grandson and bring him home safely. According to her, the airline, responsible for putting Casper on the wrong flight, offered to reimburse her travel. However, all she desired was an explanation - how did her grandson end up in Orlando? "How did this happen? Was he taken off the plane? Did the flight attendant mistakenly allow him onto another flight?"

Spirit Airlines apologized for the incident and released an official statement: "On December 21st, an unaccompanied minor traveling from Philadelphia to Fort Myers was mistakenly put on a flight to Orlando. The child was under Spirit's supervision at all times, and once we realized the error, we promptly contacted the family. We take the safety and responsibility of all our passengers seriously and are conducting an internal investigation. We sincerely apologize to the family for this unusual incident."