UNACCOMPANIED MINORS SWAPPED 5-year olds delivered to wrong cities

Posted on 09/02/2016

Two weeks ago, two unaccompanied minors were travelling from Santiago, Dominican Republic on JetBlue. Both five year olds did arrive safely, but to the wrong destinations and the wrong families. Seems the airline got the two kids mixed up.

Maribel Martinez of Manhattan told the New York’s Daily News that she told JetBlue employees, “No, this is not my child” when they presented her with a little boy, carrying her son’s passport; whose own family who was waiting for him in Boston. Martinez was understandably shaken and said she thought he was kidnapped, thinking she would never see him again.
It took three hours for JetBlue to determine where her son Andy actually was, at which point he was put on another plane and sent to his correct home. He was still wearing his wristband with his name on it.
It is not clear if Andy had the other boy’s passport, but inexplicably he cleared security in JFK without his passport and a wristband with a name on it that wouldn’t have matched his boarding pass.
"Upon learning of the error, our teams in JFK and Boston immediately took steps to assist the children in reaching their correct destinations," the airline said in a statement. "While the children were always under the care and supervision of JetBlue crew members, we realize this situation was distressing for their families."
When Martinez originally booked the flights she paid an extra $100 for a JetBlue representative to escort him onto the plane.
The airline refunded her $475 for Andy's return ticket and also gave the family $2,100 in credit but she has retained high-powered lawyer Sanford Rubenstein to take legal action against JetBlue for their negligence.
JetBlue also said in a statement that they are “reviewing the incident with our leadership and Santiago airport team to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.”