The wrong child was brought to Maribel Martinez from a JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic after the airline accidentally sent her son, Andy, to Boston instead of his intended destination of New York City.
Martinez, 38, and son Andy Martinez Mercado flew to the Dominican Republic on July 28 to visit family for vacation, the New York Daily News reported. Martinez flew to New York a week later, leaving her son with relatives. His mother purchased a ticket for him to come back on Aug. 17, and she paid an extra $100 to have a JetBlue representative escort him onto the plane, the New York Daily News added.
According to the New York Daily News, Andy was expected to arrive at JFK Airport in New York City just before 8 a.m. on Aug. 17, but when JetBlue brought a child to her, she realized he wasn’t Andy.
“No, this is not my child,” she told the JetBlue employees, according to the Daily News report.
Instead of Andy, it was a young boy holding Andy’s passport, who was accidentally put on the flight to New York City with Andy being stuck in Boston.
“I was freaking out,” Martinez said. “I didn’t know if he was alive. I still haven’t stopped crying.”
The New York Daily News reporded that JetBlue refunded Martinez her $475 for the flight and gave them $2,100 in credit for future flights, but she said she has yet to receive an explanation or apology, and does not plan to use the airline again. JetBlue officials told the newspaper that they are reviewing the incident to prevent it from happening again.
Read more at the New York Daily News.
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