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A 12-year-old girl traveling alone on a Miami-bound American Airlines flight was allegedly left to fend for herself after deplaning.
This is according to Inside Edition, which spoke to the parents and American.
American Airlines Unaccompanied Minor Allegedly Left Alone in Miami
IE reports the youngster, named Kimber, traveled from her mother’s hometown airport in Chattanooga, TN, to Miami, so she could visit her dad. (It appears Kimber would’ve had to make a connection, probably in Charlotte.) Kimber wore a credential so she could be easily identified as an unaccompanied minor. (It was so large her mother, Monica Gillam, called it “a billboard.”)
But when the girl deplaned in Miami, a flight attendant allegedly waved goodbye and allowed her to simply walk off into the terminal.
Ms. Gillam says she received a call from American an hour later and a person told her that Kimber couldn’t be found anywhere.
In addition to her child missing, Ms. Gillam worried about her daughter falling prey to human trafficking. (The Women’s Fund Miami says the city is Florida’s number one hotbed for human trafficking. And Florida is the country’s third-highest state for the crime.)
Can you imagine the horror?
The flight apparently landed early — and Kimber’s dad was just pulling up to the airport when his daughter was already off the plane. (My man: set tracking alerts for important flights! Although, maybe her dad did and was stuck in traffic. Who knows?)
So, Kimber apparently texted her dad. The dad FaceTimed her and helped her navigate her way through the airport, where they met at baggage claim. Whew.
IE says American sent the media outlet “a statement saying they take these matters very seriously and are investigating. They say they reached out to the family to find out more about what happened.”
Ms. Gillam says a flight attendant was suspended. (Paging AFPA?)
I Have Questions
Okay. Something doesn’t add up here. This could all be a terrible mistake on American’s part. Maybe I’m overthinking it. But a few questions come to mind.
- Did the girl remove her unaccompanied minor credential before deplaning? Or tuck it into her shirt or a jacket? Therefore, she wouldn’t have been easily identifiable as an unaccompanied minor. I’m not saying this happened. A flight attendant could’ve accidentally overlooked the “billboard” around the girl’s neck.
- Was the flight attendant really waving “goodbye”? Or was she making another gesture that was confused for “goodbye”?
- Why didn’t Kimber wait for the flight attendant? Because of her apparent connection at another airport, she probably knows someone needs to escort her after the flight, right? Or did she — and the flight attendant bolted?
- I understand she arrived at her final destination. But did her parents impress upon her that someone would escort her to meet her dad at the gate or other designated point? And she should wait on the plane until someone escorts her? Again: maybe she did and someone royally dropped the ball.
- Why didn’t she ask an airline or airport employee or airport police officer for help? (Perhaps she did.)
- If she had the large credential around her neck and was walking around by herself, how did she go unnoticed by so many airport personnel who should know that an unaccompanied minor walking by themselves might, you know, seem a little odd?
Airline or airport employees: I’d love to get your take and insight into a situation like this. Please drop a note in the below Comments section.
You can watch the report here or in the media player below.
Final Approach
American Airlines allegedly lost an unaccompanied minor traveling to Miami. There was a happy ending in the long run (at least, for the family). But I think there are still some questions. I’m curious when or if we’ll get some answers.
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What doesnt add up is that an AA flight actually arrived early and not delayed or cancelled??…Kidding aside, ground staff should have been waiting at the door to escort the child…Glad all turned well for the family!
I dunno, seems like a lot of questions focused on why the 12yo did the right thing. AA knows the precise details of their flights and travelers. They need to make sure that the child is escorted all the way until she is met with the designated party.
*whether the 12yo did the right thing
Uh there is no flight from CHA to MIA?
Correct. That’s why I wrote, “It appears Kimber would’ve had to make a connection, probably in Charlotte.”
De-centering AA’s conduct in favor of JAQing about the behavior of a 12 year old girl traveling alone is an interesting choice.
AA had one job to do…and they failed. I wouldn’t blame the child, the adults were incompetent in this one.
I didn’t say it’s the young lady’s fault. I just have a few questions, that’s all.
I’m a retired (thank God) flight attendant. Years ago the itinerary for my unaccompanied minor was EWR-MIA-Somewhere in Central America. After the little “child” ripped off her billboard/button identifying herself as a UM she deplaned. I probably said goodbye to her as she got off the a/c. Make up- a hat added /removed- you get the picture. They are INSTRUCTED to remain seated until EVERYONE is off at which time the f/a can physically get to their seat to escort them to the gate agent or parent and sign them over. I was horrified! The contract service that handled connecting minors told me it happens more than you think and for a variety of reason, let your imaginations run wild. Most kids are great but bottom line is: if your little 12 year old (who looks 21 most of the time) can’t/won’t follow instructions you should invest the time and airfare to escort them yourselves. THANKFULLY my issue turned out not to be an issue.
Thanks for the comment, JP!!!
Not sure about American but the airline I work for has the procedure of unaccompanied minors (UM’s) off the plane last. The Flight Attendant (FA), who knows how many UM’s there are, makes sure they walk over to the Customer Service Agent (CSA) in the jetway. The CSA will always have paper work showing how many unaccompanied minors to expect and who is the person that will pick up the UM. The CSA has to keep the UM’s in sight until they are reunited with the parent/guardian indicated on the paperwork, no UM is ever left unattended in the terminal. For my airline the FA is only responsible for the UM while on the aircraft. The CSA’s are the ones responsible when UM’s are not on the aircraft. At least that’s the way it is for my airline. I guess a UM could slip off the flight if they really wanted to but because the CSA has paperwork indicating who to meet, the situation would be spotted right away and a search would commence ASAP. Sounds like American has a UM policy with some holes in it. Someone should have caught on right away that a child was missing and done something about it.
Flight attendant should list of all umnr’s on the manifest along with seat numbers. In the summer it is not uncommon to have many on 1 flight – I have seen as many as 12. Flight attendant walks them off last and signs each one over to the gate agent or other airline staff who will supervise the kids so gate agent already knows how many are arriving on the flight. If parent or guardian arrived early enough for gate pass they are there and show ID, sign the form and are good to go. If no one at gate to get the child, we would call the contact # provided for the person picking up to see if they are on their way to gate or else will meet at baggage claim. FA had to know this girl was missing as soon as regular passengers were off. Gate agent would also know that the child didn’t come off the aircraft and signed over to her so security should have been alerted within minutes. There is even a part of the UMNR form where you fill in what the child is wearing with a description – ex. 12yo female, long brown hair with blue jeans and red tshirt carrying floral backpack. etc. just in case there is an issue. This one is on the FA but gate agent should have (and may have) caught it.
I worked in the airline industry for 30 years. I was a gate agent and unaccompanied minors were my responsibility the minute they arrived at my gate. I made them all sit in an area I had just for them to my right. We had scouts that worked for our company they were responsible for wheelchairs and making sure unaccompanied minors were safe. I would ask a scout to sit with mine if I had a lot and I had 25 unaccompanied minors on one flight. The flight attendants weren’t thrilled so I had help with my little ones. I
always on looked out for kids in the airport.
Thanks, Lawrence. My gosh. I can’t imagine the stress of 25 kids. I have one child — and she’s plenty! 🙂
Sounds like America Airlines dropped the ball. With a crazy world like ours and human trafficking at an all time high, maybe a parent or family member should be traveling with these youngsters.
A similar thing happened to my daughter last night. Her flight into MEM was delayed three times. When I got to the airport, security was shut down and no one would let me meet her at the gate. The AA agent just released my daughter into the airport. Luckily I spent over an hour in that airport with her when we left explaining how to navigate it on her own if something odd happened and she was left alone. Sure enough, after she made it out through security I got a phone call from the agent saying she shouldn’t have released her.
I’m glad all ended well. As a parent, reading your comment made me sweat. I can’t imagine how you felt.