A Florida mother has accused American Airlines of missing her two young children when they were traveling alone and their flight to upstate New York was canceled – claiming in a lawsuit that they were left in a prison-like holding cell overnight without food or water.
Amber Vencill claims in a civil lawsuit that her 10- and 12-year-old sons — referred to in court papers only as RV and JV — were left without food, water, blankets or pillows on July 30, 2022, while they were on the airline’s unaccompanied minor service.
The boys were scheduled to fly from Missouri to upstate New York, where Vencill’s partner planned to pick them up after a stop in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to the lawsuit filed Oct. 31 and obtained by The Post.
But the flight was delayed and then cancelled, forcing the company to contact the mother, identified as Ted, and tell her that the children would be placed in “a nice room for unaccompanied minors where they have their own bed and bathroom ,” the suit is the state.
“Ted was also given a phone number that was supposed to be a direct line to where the child would be,” according to the document.
American Airlines emailed Vencill at 11:40 p.m. on July 30, 2022, telling her that her son was scheduled to fly at 5 p.m. the next day — but that “conflicting information” left her with no idea what flight they would be on.
The phone number provided by the airline was useless and she spent hours unable to contact her son until an employee at Douglas Charlotte International Airport connected her with one of the children, the suit said.
The child told his mother “that they had had nothing to eat or drink since the night before, not even pretzels or snacks that are usually provided by airlines,” according to the filing.
“The room was cold, and the children spent the night on the couch with the lights on. Apparently, the child had been placed in the missing child’s room,” he continued.
The employee, a woman not employed by American Airlines, ended up giving the children food and drinks before they boarded a flight to Syracuse, where they were picked up by Ted, according to the suit.
Vencill claimed the airline failed to provide the children with “any blankets, pillows or lodging for the night” and advised her that they “will be confined to a fully lit room overnight without a bed, food or water.”
Vencill claimed that her 10- and 12-year-old sons were left without food, water, blankets or pillows while they were on the airline’s unaccompanied minor service.Getty Images
The room was described as “similar to a prison cell.”
“Despite what happened, they were very lucky that the child didn’t end up in Mexico or Latin America or anywhere. No one knows where they are,” David Jaroslawicz, Vencill’s attorney, told The Post on Tuesday.
“The airline did not respond. Finally, he found a good woman at the airport who looked for the children and found them,” he said, adding that he gave them sandwiches.
When Vencill contacted the airline, a customer relations representative apologized and refunded the $150 fee for the airline’s unaccompanied minor service, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleges that the airline was “reckless, careless, and negligent” and violated its policies and procedures when it “misplaced” the child.
On its website, American Airlines says, “We want your child to have a safe and positive trip” in its description of its unaccompanied minor service for children ages 5 to 14 flying alone.
But the lawsuit said what was “particularly offensive is that after learning of their obvious failure, the defendants offered only empty apologies and refunds, basically telling the plaintiffs, sorry we lost your kids, but here’s your money back.”
It also claims the company did not conduct an investigation into how the incident happened and how to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“Such disregard for the well-being of the plaintiff’s children and the frustrated plaintiff who spent hours worrying about her children and receiving no meaningful information about the whereabouts of her children except that they were allegedly last seen at Charlotte Airport is shameful and the plaintiff. entitled to punitive damages,” he said.
Vencill is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
“The safety and comfort of our customers, including unaccompanied minors in our care, is our highest priority and we are committed to providing a positive experience for everyone who travels with us,” an American Airlines representative told The Post in an e- mail.
“We have been in direct contact with Ms. Vencill and we are reviewing the details of the lawsuit,” the spokesperson added.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
