At 100 years old, Mildred Kirschenbaum has certainly stood the test of time; unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the airline and travel industries.
When booking tickets, the computer systems used by airlines employ a two-digit code for the birth month, day and year when entering a birth date. Since Mildred was born in 1923, she enters 23 for as her birth year — which the computer picks up as 2023.
“Soon as I check in, I’m an unescorted minor,” she shares in an Instagram video. “The supervisor has to come. And they have to see me right through security. No one seems to know how to correct it.”
Delta Airlines acknowledged the glitch to People magazine, blaming it on legacy booking and ticketing systems, which don’t appear to be changing anytime soon. However, Mildred — who once owned a travel agency — takes the inconvenience in stride, joking in her video, “I’m going through my second childhood.”