Teen daughter removed from front of Spirit Airlines plane while uninformed mother sat in back, lawsuit claims

A 15-year-old girl is removed from a Spirit Airlines flight due to overbooking, while her unbeknownst mother and brother sit in the back of the plane — and don’t realize until halfway through the flight.

While it may sound like the scene out of a movie like Flightplan or Home Alone 2, a Michigan woman claims it happened to her.

Stacy Giordano says she was flying with her daughter and son from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to Detroit, Mich., in April of 2018, when the family had to switch planes in Tampa, ABC 15 reports.

Giordano was sitting in the back of the plane with her son, while her daughter was assigned to a seat in the front. Then, according to Jerry Thurswell, Giordano’s attorney, the young teenager was removed from the plane due to overbooking, and her seat was given to another passenger.

“They didn’t want to hear anything. They just pulled her off the plane,” Thurswell claimed. 

Giordano’s daughter says she tried to reach her mother to let her know she was taken off the plane, but wasn’t able to, as her phone was placed in “airplane mode.” Giordano says she realized her daughter was not on the plane mid-flight.

“When the child says ‘my mother’s in the back of the plane, why are you taking me off?’ and they just take the child off and say, ‘sit here, you’ll be on the next flight out’ …You don’t just separate a child from their mother,” Thurswell told 7 Action News.

Spirit Airlines reportedly refunded Giordano for a ticket and offered her extra miles.

The teen was put on another flight to her destination hours later, but Giordano and her daughter claim they suffered emotional distress because of the incident, and are seeking over $75,000 in damages.

Spirit Airlines released the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle: “The safety and security of our guests is our top priority. It is our practice, however, not to comment on pending litigation.”