"It was a nightmare": 11-year-old kicked off Jetstar flight and left "stranded"
A Sydney mother has slammed Jetstar after they kicked her 11-year-old son off a flight to the Gold Coast, despite previously being told he was allowed to fly.
Emma Garland decided to let her two kids Scarlett, 13, and Jack, 11, travel on their own for the very first time ahead of the June long weekend.
Emma and her husband were both working at a conference in Queensland, so a plan was made for the kids to fly up together and meet them for a weekend away.
Slightly wary of letting her children make the journey alone, Emma called Qantas to "see what the options were".
“They said, no worries Scarlett can fly with Jack as an accompanied minor, so I changed the tickets,” Emma told 7News.
On their travel day, Scarlett and Jack were taken to the airport by their grandparents and boarded their flight with no issues.
“They boarded the flight, and it was all fine, all smiles,” Garland said.
However, just before take off, a flight attendant approached the kids and asked Jack how old he was.
Jack was then told he wasn't old enough to fly and was escorted off the flight alone.
“They tried to get her [Scarlett] off too but said ‘sorry the gates are closed’,” Garland said.
“No one explained to her what was happening, or even asked if she was okay.”
“No one said anything to her, which is just disgusting.”
Meanwhile, Jack was “hysterical” after the ordeal, and was left temporarily “stranded” until he was reunited with his in-laws who were contacted to come and collect him.
Emma promptly left the Gold Coast after purchasing a "very expensive" last minute flight to Sydney to be with her son.
“My husband was upset at the Jetstar counter and was just saying ‘I can’t believe you’ve done this to my family’,” she said.
“He was in tears at the counter. It was a nightmare of a day.”
Now, several months after the ordeal, Emma said her family have yet to receive any kind of compensation or apology from the airline.
“I have no idea which policy the Qantas consultant was referring to over the phone that day, but they assured me they would be okay to fly,” she said.
“It’s just terrible and not to mention the duty of care aspect.”
Meanwhile, a Jetstar spokesperson told 7News they are looking into the matter, to “ensure this doesn’t happen again”.
“We sincerely apologise to Ms Garland and her family for the extremely distressing situation and acknowledge our teams should have handled this situation better,” they said.
The airline explained while they “enjoy welcoming young passengers on board”, they do not offer an unaccompanied minor service and that passengers must “meet certain requirements in order to travel independently”.
Image credits: Garland Family / 7News