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Twice during the holiday travel season, young people flying solo on their way to family ended up very far from their intended destinations. One was a 6-year-old who, despite always being in the care of an airline employee, ended up in Orlando instead of Ft. Myers, Fla.
The other was a 16-year-old who was flying unaccompanied from Tampa to Cleveland … yet ended up in Puerto Rico. According to the boy's father, his son ended up on the wrong flight because there were two flights leaving from the same gate, and employees did not scan the boy's boarding pass.
"He went up there and asked the lady if the flight was boarding, and they said, 'yes,' and they also checked his bag to make sure it fit," Ryan Lose told CNN. "But Logan said they never scanned his ticket."
Both incidents are frightening. But they should be of wider concern because they are indications the last line of vigilance at our airports is faltering.
Is it a matter of employees being stretched thin and burned out? Have airlines slipped in keeping up their training?
The airlines should take the mistakes as a signal that employees must receive whatever refresher training is necessary. But it must be made clear such lapses are simply unacceptable - not just for the safety of young passengers, but of all passengers.