NEW YORK (AP) — A woman in New York says she hasn’t stopped crying since an airline mistook her 5-year-old for another child and flew him to the wrong city.
Maribel Martinez tells New York’s Daily News she was shocked when JetBlue staffers presented her with another little boy on Aug. 17 at Kennedy Airport.
“No, this is not my child,” she recalled telling JetBlue employees. “I was freaking out.”
Her lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, said that child was supposed to be in Boston. Instead, Martinez’s son, Andy, was sent there and it took hours for the airline to figure out where he was and return him home safely.
“I thought he was kidnapped,” said Martinez. “I thought I would never see him again.”
Both unaccompanied 5-year-old boys had boarded in the Dominican Republic. Martinez said her son was wearing a wristband with his name on it. But the other child was carrying Andy’s passport.
The boy who was mistakenly flown to New York was safely returned to Boston, the airline said. JetBlue is reviewing how the mix-up occurred.