(NewsNation) — In a holiday travel mix-up, 16-year-old Logan Lose found himself on a flight to Puerto Rico instead of Cleveland, leaving his parents in Parrish, Florida, in a state of panic.
Last Friday at Tampa International Airport, Logan bid farewell to his family as he embarked on his flight to spend the holidays with his mom. However, the mix-up occurred when he boarded a Frontier Airlines flight, which was bound for Puerto Rico, instead of the intended flight to Cleveland, NewsNation affiliate WFLA reported.
According to Logan’s father, Ryan Lose, the confusion began when the boarding agent didn’t properly scan Logan’s boarding pass.
Upon landing in Puerto Rico, Logan urgently messaged his family: “Help me please. I’m so scared. They told me it was Ohio.”
The mix-up was exacerbated by the fact that both flights were boarding from the same gate, with the Puerto Rico flight departing two hours earlier than the one to Cleveland.
Lose emphasized that Logan, who was already nervous about flying alone for the first time, had asked the right questions at the correct gate and presented his boarding pass.
Frontier Airlines’ Director of Corporate Communications, Jennifer de la Cruz, acknowledged the error at the gate, attributing it to a mistake by the boarding agent. Logan was flown back to Tampa on the same aircraft and accommodated on a flight to Cleveland the following day.
Lose criticized Frontier’s initial denial of the mistake, telling WFLA, “They kept brushing it off, saying no that’s not possible. That can’t happen.”
In response, de la Cruz offered a sincere apology to the family on behalf of Frontier Airlines. Despite offering a $200 travel voucher, Lose insisted that the compensation did not adequately address the stress and anxiety caused by the incident.
“They offered me a voucher to an airline that just lost my son,” Lose said. “I want accountability. These airlines are not being held accountable.”
Frontier Airlines told WFLA they do not have an “unaccompanied minor program,” but allow passengers aged 15 and older to fly alone.
This comes after Spirit Airlines put an unaccompanied 6-year-old on the wrong flight.
NewsNation’s affiliate WFLA contributed to this report.
