US Airline Flies Domestic Passenger To International Location Without A Passport

Over the last few months, airline mishaps have become a common yet strange occurrence. From a passenger peeing on another passenger, airlines leaving passengers at the airport to a scorpion biting a woman on a flight are some unusual incidents that took place in the aviation industry recently. However, in another bizarre instance, an American airline accidentally flew a domestic passenger to an international location. This was not all, the woman was not even carrying her passport when she landed in the foreign land, as per a report in the ABC News.

The New Jersey woman, Ellis-Hebard, who was visiting Florida claimed that a gate change caused her to go to Jamaica instead of Jacksonville. She informed the outlet that she "regularly flies" from Philadelphia to her second home in Jacksonville and arrived at a gate for her November 6 flight that read "PHL to JAX". "I fly once every six weeks. I picked Frontier flights because we flew so often," she told the outlet.

Ms Hebard had requested a quick trip to the loo from a gate agent and once she returned, the plane was almost completely boarded and she was hurried onto the aircraft. She was recovering from a back surgery and was slower than usual. 

Ms Hebard continued telling the outlet, "(The gate agent) said, 'Come on, come on. Give me your boarding pass.' I would say I took about ten steps, and she said, 'Are you Beverly Ellis-Hebard?' I said, 'You just had my boarding pass. You just checked me in. Yes!' She said, 'All right, go! Go.'"

Further, the flight crew informed Ms Hebard that the Jacksonville flight had a gate change and that their aircraft was on its route to Jamaica. The woman continued, "I laughed. I said 'I would love to be going there but I have a beach where I live,' (The flight attendant) said, 'Look at me. This plane is going to Jamaica.' And I knew by the look on her face she wasn't joking."

However, soon Ms Hebard realised that she was not carrying her passport since she was flying domestically and would not be allowed to deboard without the same. The outlet stated that she stayed on the jetway, which is considered a territory of the United States. Further, the flight crew waited with her until several hours later when the aircraft to Philadelphia took off.

As per the New York Post, a Frontier Airlines spokesperson said, "We sincerely regret that the customer was able to board the wrong flight and have extended our apologies. We have provided her with a refund and compensation as well as addressed the matter with airport personnel."