A six-year-old boy ended up landing hundreds of miles from his family after being put on the wrong flight over Christmas.
Little boy Casper had been due to arrive in Fort Meyers, Florida, on December 21 after being put on a Spirit Airlines flight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
But grandmother Maria Ramos was horrified when she received a call from her grandson wondering where she was, after he had been put on the wrong flight.
Casper had landed at an airport in Orlando, Florida, nearly 160 miles north east of his planned destination.
Carrier Spirit Airlines said it was reviewing procedures after the bungle and said an employee had left the company over the incident.
Speaking to WINK News Ms Ramos relived the moment she realised Casper was not where he should be. She said: “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’.”
She added: “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’.”
Seven days after the incident Spirit Airlines said it had concluded an investigation. ABC News reported an employee had escorted Casper to the wrong aircraft.
Ms Ramos said she was “happy” about getting answers and that the airline called her and said “sorry, it’s our mistake”.
In a statment Spirit Airlines said: “We take the safety and responsibility of transporting all our Guests seriously, and we have policies and procedures in place to prevent this type of situation from happening.
“To better understand what occurred, we immediately launched a thorough internal investigation and discovered that a gate agent in Philadelphia (PHL) escorted the child to the incorrect aircraft.
“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.
“We are also reiterating our procedures to the team, and we are in communication with the child’s family about this matter.”
