An 11-year-old boy was “left inconsolable” after being kicked off a Jetstar flight, according to his mother.
Jack Garland was due to travel with his 13-year-old sister Scarlett from Sydney to the Gold Coast in Australia for a long weekend in October when the incident occurred.
The siblings were originally meant to be travelling with their father, but last-minute work engagements prevented him from taking the trip.
The pair’s mother, Emma Garland, claims she checked beforehand with Qantas, through whom she’d booked the tickets, that the two could travel unaccompanied by an adult.
But she alleges that, once they had boarded the plane, Jack was removed with no explanation given to his sister.
“It was one of the most horrendous days of our lives as a family,” Ms Garland told Channel 9’s Today Show.
“Just the fact that Scarlett and Jack were flying on their own for the first time was stressful enough, then to get the call from Jack saying he had been taken off the flight and he didn’t really understand why – he was just beside himself.”
She described the incident as a “parent’s worst nightmare”.
While Jack was removed from the flight, Scarlett was unable to get off and their mother claims no one informed her of what was happening.
“By the time she got to the Gold Coast she was beside herself not knowing what had happened to her brother,” said Ms Garland.
The airline apologised and said it is investigating why the family was misinformed about its age restriction policy prior to the flight.
“We sincerely apologise to Ms Garland and her family for the extremely distressing situation,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.
“While we enjoy welcoming young passengers on board our flights, Jetstar does not offer an unaccompanied minor service and young passengers must meet certain requirements in order to travel independently with us, including being of secondary school age.
“A secondary school passenger can travel independently but must be at least 15 years old to accompany a child under secondary school age.”
They added: “We also apologise to Ms Garland for the delay she has experienced in obtaining a refund and can confirm that refunds are being processed for her family’s entire booking.”
Ms Garland concluded: “I’d like reassurance that this won’t happen to another family one day.”
The Independent has approached Jetstar for further comment.
