Georgetown family recounts flight nightmare after 11-year-old gets stranded in California
GEORGETOWN, Ky (WTVQ)- A central Kentucky mother is furious after daughter gets stranded thousands of miles away after an airline error, with no way of helping her.
That’s what happened to a Georgetown family this past weekend. And now, the family says there needs to be reform.
The trip was supposed to be a fun birthday getaway for Serenity Stafford, who had just turned 11 in June. She was set to fly by herself for the first time, and spend 11 days in California to visit family. The trip to California went perfectly. But the trip home to Bluegrass Airport in Lexington was what the family is calling a complete nightmare.
“I said ‘what do you mean?’ She said ‘ma’am, we can give you your points or we can give you your daughter. Now which do you choose,” says Anna Lewis, Serenity’s mother.
Lewis is recalling the conversation she had last Friday with American Airlines. The call came after her daughter’s flight was cancelled without any notification and was moved seven hours earlier. This meant her daughter missed the flight. Lewis says she wanted to know how the airlines would make it right through compensation. That was the reply she got through a supervisor.
“I was quiet for a moment. Because in my mind, I could not believe that they just told this to me,’ says Lewis.
The family had used American Airlines and it’s Unaccompanied Minor Service that uses an authorized escort to make sure children who are flying by themselves make it to each flight. Serenity’s trip to California went fine.
“It was a lot of fun,” says Serenity.
But the flight home from California to Lexington was not.
“It was an absolute nightmare,” says Lewis.
“I’m just crying because I don’t know whats going on. All I know is that I’m being told I cant go home,” says Stafford.
The 11-year-old made it to Dallas for a connecting flight, but it was delayed with a five-hour layover. Serenity says she wasn’t allowed access to a phone charger or food.
“I had to pay three hundred dollars for an escort service on top of the airline ticket to entrust the airline to take care of my child. They’re throwing her in a room like she an inconvenience,” says Lewis.
Serenity finally made it home late Saturday night. Lewis says she also wasn’t asked to confirm her relation to Serenity once she got to the airport to pick her up.
Lewis also found out that her family isn’t the only ones that has gone through this kind of situation after she made a post on social media. She adds that there needs to be more supervision to make sure children are safe when they fly solo.
“I just want to know that every child can fly safely and I want some sort of reform so that this doesn’t happen again ,especially to other kids,” says Lewis.
ABC 36 reached out to American Airlines. They tell us “A member of our team has reached out to Ms. Lewis to learn more about their experience and address their concerns.”
You can find more information about American Airline’s unaccompanied minors policy here.
