A Georgia mother was sent into a panic when American Airlines called her to say they lost track of her 12-year-old daughter, who was traveling as an unaccompanied minor.
Monica Gilliam‘s daughter Kimber flew from Chattanooga to Miami to visit her father last Saturday. When her plane landed 50 minutes early, Gilliam said her daughter “felt like she was supposed to get up” and leave with all the other passengers. Kimber was also “waved” off by a flight attendant.
When unaccompanied minors fly, they wear a lanyard with information on who is meeting them at their destination. According to AA’s website, gate agents will board the minor first, then a uniformed team member will escort them off the plane to the gate where their guardian picks them up. Normally, they are the last to get off the plane.
Gillam added Kimber made her way through the Miami airport alone as her father guided her to baggage claim via FaceTime. She adds during that ordeal, American called her to let her know her child was missing.
“I was like, ‘How did you lose my child?’ You know, how do you lose an unaccompanied minor?” Gilliam said in an interview with ABC News.
Kimber eventually made her way to baggage claim and met her father. Although they had a happy ending, Gilliam is calling for more training on AA’s part “to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
According to Gilliam, the airline offered the family three free flights along with a limo to the airport following the incident. The family denied the compensation and said they may seek legal representation.
American Airlines told ABC News in a statement that they’re looking into how the error occurred.