The boy was ''incorrectly boarded'' on a flight to Orlando, 4 hours away from his intended destination.
An unaccompanied 6-year-old boy flying for the first time to see his grandmother in Florida was put on the wrong Spirit Airlines flight, the New York Post reported. The child was supposed to fly from Philadelphia International Airport to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers on Thursday. However, the boy was ''incorrectly boarded'' on a flight to Orlando, four hours away from his intended destination.
In an emailed statement to CNN, Spirit Airlines apologised to the family. "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 said in a statement to CNN.
The statement did not address how the error came to take place, but a spokesperson said an internal investigation was underway.
The child's grandmother, Maria Ramos, shared her ordeal with Wink News and said that she started panicking when her grandson didn't get off the plane in Fort Myers.
''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. 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,'' Mrs Ramos said.
Later, the boy called her to report that he had landed safely. His baggage also successfully arrived in Fort Myers as planned. Mrs Ramos then went on a four-hour drive to pick up the six-year-old, sharing that the mishap was one of the most terrifying experiences of her life. Spirit Airlines offered to reimburse Mrs Ramos for the drive but she wants to know the reason behind the lapse.
"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? After mom handed him the paperwork, the flight attendant wondered if she let him go by himself and he jumped in the wrong plane by himself?" Mrs Ramos said.
The airline said that the boy had been supervised the whole time.
''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," Spirit said.
''We take the safety and responsibility of transporting all of our Guests seriously and are conducting an international investigation. We apologize to the family for this experience,'' the statement added.