Korean Airlines removed a 16-year-old boy from an international flight, leaving the Atlanta teen temporarily stranded in Seoul with his younger brother, Yahoo Lifestyle is reporting. It’s the second reported incident in a matter of days in which a teenager was left stranded in a strange city by an airline.
The two unidentified teens, ages 16 and 15, were traveling alone from Atlanta to Manila to visit their father, who was there on a work assignment. Mom Prajakta Patel says the lads’ itinerary had them flying on Delta to Seoul, and then on Korean Airlines from Seoul to Manila.
Prajatka says that the boys are experienced travelers who know how to fly safely in spite of the 16-year-old’s severe peanut allergy. They wipe down the seats for peanut dust. They always carry emergency EpiPens with them. They bring masks.
What’s more, says Prajatka, Delta is always accommodating to the boys’ needs.
“We only fly Delta because they have been so accommodating with my son’s allergies. But the connecting flight was new, so we were nervous.”
As it turns out, she was right to have concerns about Korean Airlines being so willing to accommodate her sons. She says that the boys were basically told that there would be peanuts served on their flight to Manila and tough luck. She even says that Korean Airlines staff physically nudged and pulled her sons to keep them off of the plane.
That left the two young men stranded in a foreign city where they didn’t speak the language, thousands of miles from their parents.
Eventually, phone calls were made, and the lads wound up safely on a peanut-free flight back home. Now, a few weeks later, their parents have filed a complaint with Korean Airlines, and they want some answers.
In a statement, Korean Airlines noted that the situation could have been handled differently.
“Korean Air sincerely apologizes to Mr. and Mrs. Patel and their sons. Customer service is a mainstay of the Delta and Korean Air partnership and we regret that the Patels experience did not reflect our common values. We are reviewing this incident and will strive to create a better customer experience.”
This is the second time in a matter of weeks that an incident involving an airline stranding a teenager has made the news. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , a teenage girl was removed from a Spirit Airlines flight due to overbooking, while her mother and brother sat in the back of the aircraft unaware. The young lady spent a few hours stuck in Ft. Lauderdale, unable to contact her mom, before the situation was made right.
