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Teen Allegedly Removed From A Flight Without Her Mother Knowing
A 15-year-old girl was removed from a Spirit Airlines flight due to overbooking while her mother and brother sat in the back of the plane–and they didn’t even realize she was gone until halfway through the flight. According to ABC 15 reports, this all happened to one Michigan woman and her family.
Stacy Giordano says she was flying with her daughter and son from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Detroit, Michigan in April of 2018, when the family had to switch planes in Tampa. Giordano was sitting in the back of the plane with her son, but her daughter was assigned to a seat in the front. Then, according to Giordano’s attorney, Jerry Thurswell, the teenager was removed from the plane due to overbooking, and her seat was given to another passenger. “They didn’t want to hear anything. They just pulled her off the plane,” Thurswell claims.
Giordano’s daughter says that she tried to reach her mother to let her know she was removed from the plane but wasn’t able to since her phone was in airplane mode. Stacy says she realized her daughter was not on the plane in the middle of the flight. “When the child says ‘my mother’s in the back of the plane, why are you taking me off?’ and they just take the child off and say, ‘sit here, you’ll be on the next flight out’ …You don’t just separate a child from their mother,” the attorney told 7 Action News.
Spirit Airlines reportedly refunded Giordano for a ticket and offered her extra miles. The teen was put onto another flight to the same destination a few hours later, but Giordano and her daughter claim they have suffered emotional distress because of this incident and are seeking over $75,000 in damages.
Spirit Airlines released a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle saying the following: “The safety and security of our guests is our top priority. It is our practice, however, not to comment on pending litigation.”