Airline Puts Unaccompanied Teen on Flight to Germany Instead of Sweden

Paula Liu
By Paula Liu
July 8, 2019US News
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Airline Puts Unaccompanied Teen on Flight to Germany Instead of Sweden
A file photo of a United Airlines flight in San Francisco on July 8, 2015. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A teenage boy traveling to Sweden was almost flown to Germany when a mixup happened at the boarding gate, according to multiple reports.

Anton Berg, 14, was on a flight to Sweden to visit his grandparents when the mixup happened. During an interchange stop at Newark, New Jersey, a Newark employee brought the unaccompanied teen to gate B86 whereby he was supposed to get on a Scandinavian Airlines flight to Stockholm, according to CNN.

His parents said that they had paid United extra in order to have an employee walk the young teen to his intended plane to fly to Sweden, according to CBS News. But the employee was apparently was unaware that the Scandinavian Airlines flight had been moved, and the flight that was awaiting at gate B86 was a Eurowings airline flight to Dusseldorf, Germany.

Once Berg boarded the plane, he noticed that everyone on the plane was speaking German, and realized that he had gotten on the wrong flight, CNN reported. Berg even texted his father asking whether it was odd that everyone was speaking German on a flight bound for Sweden. His father agreed.

Berg quickly notified the crew that he was supposed to go to Sweden, and the plane turned around and headed back to the gate at Newark in order to rebook the 14-year-old on a new flight.

When Berg’s mother heard what happened, she became outraged, according to CNN. In addition, she tweeted that no one had notified them about what had happened to her son.

“When somebody says unaccompanied minor, wrong airplane, wrong country, everybody should’ve stepped up and done something. It was a matter of seconds between a 14-year-old speaking up on an airplane and [him] landing in Germany,” his mother, Brenda Berg told CNN.

She provided updates on her son’s situation at the airport, and said she called the airline, but was put on hold for well over an hour. She wrote on Twitter that her son was still at the terminal waiting and that not a single United employee was in sight.

She tweeted that her son had to fend for himself while waiting at the Newark airport. He managed to feed himself, but this situation was the opposite of ideal. “Thanks [United Airlines] for STILL not caring for our child even though you forced us to pay your fee.”

According to CBS News, United refunded the $150 that Berg’s parents paid to have someone walk the 14-year-old to the wrong gate, adding that they were planning to reach out to the family.

In the end, the 14-year-old was put on a flight to Sweden but had to first fly to Denmark for a  transfer to Stockholm. Though his mother was still quite livid, CBS News reported that she was glad when her son finally made it to Stockholm to be with his grandparents.

“He is landing in Denmark now. This is not what we wanted—an international transfer,” she tweeted, clearly still discontent with how the situation played out. “I have been up night thinking about the fact that he was one call button away from landing in Germany without being on the manifest! They were taxiing on the runway!”

In a statement obtained by CBS News, United Airlines reiterated that their customers are their first priority, saying that they had been in contact with 14-year-old’s family and apologized for the mishap.

“Once Eurowings recognized that he had boarded the wrong aircraft in Newark, the plane returned to the game—before taking off,” the statement read. “Our staff then assisted the young customer to ensure that he boarded the correct rebooked flight later that evening. We have confirmed that this young customer safely reached his destination.”

Berg’s mother wrote on her twitter that the statement from United was not true, considering that she had not heard from the airline since their last interaction when she was put on hold while inquiring about her son’s wellbeing.

“Our son landed 11 hrs ago and it has been 24 hours since our last communication from [United Airlines],” Berg’s mother wrote on Twitter. “Apparently they are saying that they have been in regular contact and they care for our son. Not true. We are still waiting for an apology and action plan so this doesn’t happen again.”

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