Boy, six, put on wrong flight to Florida in real-life Home Alone 2 blunder

Kevin from Home Alone 2 and Casper, who got onto the wrong flight in Florida (in real life). Credit: 20th Century Studios / Maria Ramos

A six-year-old boy who was travelling on his own to see his grandmother was put on the wrong plane and ended up 160 miles away.

Young Casper was supposed to fly from Philadelphia to southwest Florida, in the United States, to visit his grandmother Maria Ramos for Christmas. It was his first time flying.

But when Ms Ramos arrived at Southwest Florida International Airport on Thursday, she was told he was not on the Spirit Airlines flight.

The first-grader had ended up in Orlando on his own.

It is a scenario reminiscent of the classic Christmas film 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York', when main character Kevin, played by McCauley Culkin, who is also supposed to be heading to Florida, gets separated from his family and ends up flying solo to New York.

In Home Alone 2, Kevin ends up in New York after taking the wrong flight. Credit: 20th Century Studios

But in the real life version, Casper ended up just a four-hour drive away from where his grandmother was.

Ms Ramos told WINK TV her excitement about seeing her grandson dissipated when she realised he was not on the plane.

She said: "They told me, 'No, he's not on this flight, he missed his flight.'

"I said, 'No, he could not miss his flight, because I have the check-in tag.

“So I ran inside the plane to the flight attendant and I asked her, ‘Where’s my grandson?'

Maria Ramos said she panicked when she realised her grandson Casper had not arrived at the airport. Credit: WINK TV

"'He was handed over to you at Philadelphia?’ she said,

"‘No, I had no kids with me.'”

Ms Ramos panicked, but then she got a call from her grandson from the airport in Orlando, telling her that he had landed.

She says she now keeps thinking about what would have happened if someone had stolen her grandson.

Spirit Airlines has offered to reimburse Ms Ramos for the drive, but Ms Ramos says she just wants to know how the mix-up happened.

In a statement, Spirit Airlines said the boy was under the care and supervision of an airlines employee the entire time, even though he was incorrectly boarded on a flight to Orlando.

Once the mistake was discovered, the airlines let the family know, the statement said.

It read: “We take the safety and responsibility of transporting all of our guests seriously and are conducting an internal investigation.

"We apologise to the family for this experience.”

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