Woman Sues JetBlue For Mixing Up Kids

We all know airlines might put your luggage on the wrong flight, but in August, JetBlue sent a child to the wrong destination, causing huge distress for his waiting mother. Now New Yorker Maribel Martinez has filed a lawsuit against JetBlue for mixing up two kids and sending her 5-year-old son Andy to the wrong city. Andy flew by himself from the Dominican Republic and was supposed to arrive at JFK, but ended up in Boston instead. The boy the staff believed was Martinez’s son was also 215 miles away from his destination.

Martinez quoted “emotional distress, extreme fear, horror, mental shock, mental anguish and psychological trauma” as reasons for the lawsuit, and said that she thought her son had been kidnapped and that she never would see him again. It took JetBlue staff three hours to find out what happened and where Andy was, and to let him speak to his mother on the phone. In the meantime, airline staff at the Boston airport had presented Andy to a woman he had never seen before, telling him it was his mother. As icing on the cake the boys even had each other’s passports on them.

Woman files lawsuit against JetBlue Airways for flying her son, 5, to the wrong city. https://t.co/5z4R4PkeEc

— Global News Toronto (@globalnewsto) September 30, 2016

Martinez’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. She has already rejected an offer of a $10,000 gift from JetBlue, and the company did also refund her $475 for the plane ticket. The airline has not responded to any media inquiries, but according to New York Daily News officials are conducting an internal investigation. They will then forward the information to the U.S. Department of Transportation before any legal actions can proceed. Martinez’s attorney Sanford Rubenstein said:

Any parent can understand the terrifying fear a mother goes through knowing that her child is missing. This never should have happened and the JetBlue employees should be ashamed of themselves.

According to previous statements from JetBlue, both children were always under the surveillance of airline staff. But it’s easy to understand this is the worst nightmare for any parent, and why Martinez is moving forward with the suit.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.