A teenager on his first flight alone was pulled into security and had his trip home canceled after gate agents figure out he was skiplagging, or booking a flight with the layover as the actual intended destination. …
A teenager on his first flight alone was pulled into security and had his trip home canceled after gate agents figure out he was skiplagging, or booking a flight with the layover as the actual intended destination. …
Actually, if you read the T&Cs on the contract, you really are expected to use the full ride, and the airline is allowed to impose a penalty like this. But it’s at the airline’s discretion, and I think not even the bean counters expect gate agents to enforce it in the most draconian fashion against unaccompanied minors.
This is why they are going to the press with this, because they can’t win the lawsuit. And the Press is the best place to expose behavior that’s legal, but shitty.
I’d bet they reacted like they did specifically because the person is a minor - a minor who is in the care of the airline and who they’re responsible for until they reach the intended destination. If the final flight arrived without the minor on it without it being intended, they would most certainly have some level of liability for the minor’s whereabouts.
An interesting point, I went back to the article and the kid is only described as a “teenager”, but one who would need their own photo ID to get past TSA. That would probably put the kid to be at least old enough to have a learner’s permit.
Most airlines will let a 16 or 17 year old travel domestically on their own, as long a they have ID. While they are technically minors, the airline will not give them any special treatment, and expect them to make their own way on their connection.
I’d forgotten that most Americans don’t have passports. But I’m certain many under 16s fly across the US unaccompanied every year - shared custody agreements must make it conditional in at least a few thousand cases. Is there’s not a standard photo ID card available in the US aside from a passport or drivers license?
Nope, there is no mandatory, national ID for Americans, in large part because people dont trust the Federal government. Also, many people think it would be too similar to the biblical “Mark of the Beast”.
I wish I was kidding.
They’re not mandatory here either, but you do need a form of photo ID to take domestic flights, vote and buy age-restricted products. If you don’t have a passport or drivers license, or don’t want to carry them around, it’s very easy to obtain a PASS card (Proof of Age Standards Scheme). They’re accepted as an official form of ID and are only £15. I had an early version when I was in my teens so I could get child rates on transport, cinema tickets etc. I think they’re a brilliant idea.
I suspect there would be backlash here if they were made mandatory, but not because anyone considers them the mark of the beast. Just your usual privacy concerns.
There’s another factor at play in the US for this sort of thing, ID requirements to vote were used to prevent non-white people from voting, they probably still are in some parts of the country even though it’s illegal. Because of that history any required form of identification here has to be free to acquire while also getting over the other hurdles y’all were discussing(and the other poster is 100% right about the mark of the beast thing). It’s effectively impossible to institute
That’s a really good point and makes a lot of sense. Tbf if I were putting my child on a flight unaccompanied, I wouldn’t want to risk them having to deal with the extra stress of not having the correct ticket though. It’s one thing to take the risk yourself when no one is walking you through the airport, but surely the parents knew the kid wouldn’t be able to to go awol mid journey?
We’re they registers as an unaccompanied minor? I’ve flown solo as a minor without being an UM past the age of like
14
I flew for summer programs pretty much every year of high school and was only an UM once
Just because it’s stated in T&C doesn’t mean it’s necessarily legally binding.
Airline T&C are not just any old contract, but they are called the “Contract of Carriage” for the airline and have protections at the Federal level. Anything’s legal standing can be challenged, of course, but airlines do have special protections in this case.
There’s no way the family could possibly sue over this and win.