United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Airline mix-up sends two unaccompanied minors to wrong cities
Tuesday, 02 Sep, 2016
0
A mother has told of her shock after her five-year-old son was mixed up with another unaccompanied minor and flown to the wrong city.
Maribel Martinez, from New York, was waiting for her son Andy to return from a family vacation in the Dominican Republic and was presented with the wrong child at JFK.
However the child was carrying Martinez’ son’s passport.
Both minors had boarded at Santiago, Dominican Republic for separate JetBlue flights to New York and Boston.
Martinez’ son was eventually tracked down in Boston.
JetBlue issued a statement over the embarrassing mix-up.
"Our teams in JFK and Boston immediately took steps to assist the children in reaching their correct destinations. While the children were always under the care and supervision of JetBlue crew members, we realise this situation was distressing for the families," it said.
Martinez told the New York Daily News it took the airline more than three hours to locate her son.
"Any parent can understand the terrifying feeling of fear a mother goes through knowing her young child is missing. This should never have happened. Jet Blue’s employees should be ashamed of themselves," said the Martinez’ family lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein.
Rubenstein hinted a lawsuit may follow.
"Right now the issue is not a lawsuit, the issue is an investigation by the FAA about what actually happened here, and then we’ll explore the lawsuit," Rubenstein said.
JetBlue said it has refunded the flights and issued additional flight credit to both families and an internal investigation into the incident is ongoing.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Walt Leger on New Orleans’ Resilience and Major Events Ahead
Cindy Mackin Shares Estes Park’s Winter Thrills
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Report: Cruise guest died after ship lashed in heavy storm
British teen in serious condition after paraglider collision
JetBlue scraps London Gatwick flights