She “could have been kidnapped” the mother of an 11 year old girl who flew from Houston to Charlotte says. “Anyone could have grabbed her.” But where was the mom in all of this?
Airline staff are supposed to watch unaccompanied minors. This child, the mother says, was left alone when the plane landed.
“I am so upset…when I finally got to the kiosk [in the airport] she was like ‘mama I see you.’ She runs to me. I know I have to sign something, I didn’t sign anything. She said — ‘mama they don’t even know I’m gone,’” Richardson said.
United Airlines told FOX 46 after an internal investigation they found all policies were followed by airline employees.
The mother was supposed to meet the child at the gate. The mother was late arriving, and she blames that on how long it took to clear the TSA security checkpoint. The mother was literally Facetiming with her daughter except while actually going through the screening process (since her phone would have been sent through x-ray).
And airports are one of the least likely places that an 11 year old will be abducted. There are law enforcement everywhere (from numerous agencies) and the entire property is being monitored by video cameras.
Flight attendants aren’t acting in loco parentis. If you want a concierge-level unaccompanied minor experience you aren’t going to get that for $150 per two children.
The designated meeting point here was the arrival gate. The mother was supposed to get – and did get – a gate pass. The only thing then that appears to be in dispute is whether or not United personnel checked the mother’s ID to verify her identity before allowing her to take her daughter (as their policy requires). But the complaint doesn’t seem to be that they allowed her to leave with her daughter.
Uh, no. United’s policy is not to release a minor until someone with correct ID shows up. Whether the mother was late or not, the child shouldn’t have been left alone.
Stop blaming everything on United. I agree that UA devalues mileageplus, raises ticket price, cuts back on foods… but they are not your baby-sitter. The girl is 11 years old already, not an infant. This mother just wants some attention.
An 11-year-old is way more likely be kidnapped on the way to/from school or a non-school activity near their local home/school/recreational activity sites than airside at Charlotte airport. And they are also way more likely to be kidnapped by a relative than by a stranger.
Assuming an 11-year-old American girl nowadays flying as an unaccompanied minor on a US common carrier is even more likely than the average 11 year old in the country to have an internet-connected smartphone, I think the greater risk for such child is that of using the phone while walking/running than of a kidnapping risk from a non-relative at a US airport.
People and their unnecessary drama, but I don’t begrudge her trying to get a refund of the UAM fee.
United REQUIRES that you pay for Unaccompanied Minor service for an 11-year old traveling alone. They bear ALL the responsibility here, as it’s their own policy!
Also, keep in mind, United Breaks Guitars
When I was eleven, I used to travel 25 miles on a train unaccopmpanied, then had a 15 minute walk to school, six days a week, come rain come shine come snow…. 11 year olds are not babies although I sometimes think today’s parents would it were so.
Dear Mother in this case: Five minutes early is on time. They’re called flight trackers, you know.
An 11 year old is old enough to know who a stranger is or not.
@Alan thank you for that reminder to watch that video again!
United should have had an employee stay with the kid if the mom paid for the service as United requires. She should get her money back for that but also doesn’t need to make this a huge deal. Since she is also to blame at this point for being so late.
The mom should have gotten to the airport in plenty of time to pick up her kid (either the kid is super precious to her, in which case she’d be crazy worried about making sure she got there on time or she isn’t that worried and couldn’t be bothered to show up early). Barring something else coming out that like the mom was going to be fired if she left her job early or something (and even then, pick a later flight?) this seems like the mom is making a mountain out of a molehill. If she is blaming the TSA checkpoint- I call hooey- when I am traveling I check the week out for the TSA wait times and pay attention. Thats just for me flying by myself to make sure I get to my flight. This is a mom supposedly picking up the most precious cargo ever. Idk, seems like a disconnect here between the care she provides and the level of preparedness she wanted to make, versus how concerned about it she is now.
I well remember 11. I was old enough to function independently while waiting for someone to pick me up
When I was 9 years old, Northwest Airlines sent to me a hotel alone. I didn’t mind as I did not want an employee either in the hotel room or outside the room or me forced to stay at the airport while other passengers got hotel rooms.
When our out of town grands ( ages 8 and 10 on their first flight) were coming from ONT to SJC, we were in contact with our daughter the whole time. She let us know when the kids were on the plane, when the plane took off, and when she left the airport. Since it was such a short flight, we were usually going through security as soon as they were in the air, at the gate long before they were to arrive, and when the gate was staffed, let the gate agents know who we were and who we were waiting for.
If mom was so concerned, she should have been at the airport and the gate way before the flight landed To blame United, TSA, and anyone who will listen, smacks at wanting a settlement for her time and perceived inconvenience and worry.
I get that sometimes you run into traffic, but when the cargo is supposed to be your most treasured possession, I’d make sure I had lots of time to get to the pick up location!! Mom of 6 with 16 grands…and never have been late to pick up any of my kids or grands!!
Paranoid America. At 11 I was taking buses from NYC to Pennsylvania, running around New York and living like a normal human being. Now this was in the ’60s but so what? If anything city kids are more street smart than country ones on how to manage. If you’re really worried about a kidnapper, then watch what an angry ex-spouse is planning.
Yup, screw something up and blame someone else. Mom’s an idiot if she put her daughter on a plane along knowing that the kid couldn’t manage. I was babysitting other kids when I was eleven. I suppose United will come up with some sort of ‘compensation’ for the trauma caused this poor little kid. And mama will brag about it for years, never realizing that she’s the one who caused the problem, nor caring. Mama’s probably hoping for a slot on a TV talk show.
@Perrin Larton – kudos to you! Exactly on point.
I have never had southwest leave my 11 yr old daughter alone when flying unaccompanied. When i was a a minute or two late to the gate (or plane early.). And always had to sign..
At same time it is impossible to plan for every possibility. Especially during a 4.5 hr drive to Atlanta airport and parking availability at atl and security wait time that is not posted online. Granted Charlotte would be a much smaller airport.
I did lots of crazy things at age 11 in the sixties but my folks never had to pay anyone $150 for the privilege.