News/Commentary

‘We don’t know where she is’: Mother blasts American Airlines for losing 12-yr-old daughter

July 9, 2022 | | Print Article

A furious Georgia mother made a viral TikTok video detailing how American Airlines lost her 12-year-old daughter in one of the most notorious human trafficking hubs in the nation after being paid to chaperone her off the plane in Miami.

Monica Gilliam’s daughter Kimber traveled via American Airlines, flying alone from Tennessee to Miami to visit her father for a three-week trip. The photography professor was enraged that the airline did not escort her daughter off the plane. Instead, they waved goodbye to her and she stepped off the plane and disappeared, causing her parents to panic.

The mother of four paid $150 for her daughter to be chaperoned through both airports. She reportedly wore a badge informing the cabin crew that she was not with an adult so it was obvious that she was alone.

“They give you a lanyard for your child to wear [around her neck] and it’s got all of the child’s information inside it — their boarding pass, which lets everybody know that they’re not traveling with an adult,” Gilliam said.

Her daughter ate breakfast at the airport. An attendant then took the girl to her flight and “got her boarded first, which is what they’re supposed to do with an unaccompanied minor,” the mother commented.

“I stayed until the plane took off,” the mother explained, “and then I left, not thinking that anything was going to go wrong.”

Two hours later, she got a call from her ex-husband, who said, “You’re not going to believe what happened.”

An American Airlines manager called Gilliam and told her that Kimber was missing. The Miami terminal was shut down while they searched for the girl. The child’s father eventually found her.

“How do you lose an unaccompanied minor?” Gilliam told Fox News Digital. “How did you lose my child?”

“It’s not OK and it shouldn’t happen. Almost an hour after her flight landed, I got a call from American Airlines,” the angry mother stated.

“It was the American Airlines manager at Miami and he says ‘your child is missing, we’ve shut down the terminal, we don’t know where she is,'” Gilliam recounted.

Kimber’s flight landed early. Instead of an employee taking her off the airplane to meet her father, she was simply waved off the plane by flight attendants according to the mother.

“It turns out that the flight attendants waved her off the plane and said ‘bye’ and she didn’t know what to do so she kept going because they were telling her ‘bye’ so she kept walking,” she stated.

“So she’s going through the airport with that billboard on her, that she was an unaccompanied minor in one of the largest human trafficking hubs in the country,” Gilliam remarked on TikTok.

Kimber evidently called her father who talked her through the airport incident. He basically told her to stay put and she guided him to her. The child was not harmed and is safe and sound. But it could have ended much differently.

“On the way out, no American Airlines employees stopped her to see if she had an adult, not one Miami airport employee stopped her and even the TSA security agent – before she left the secure area into baggage claim – stopped her,” the irate mother charged.

American Airlines’ “unaccompanied minors” policy states that children aged five to 14 have to use their service. It says those aged between 15 and 17 can use it but it is optional.

It costs $150 each way for a child to be chaperoned by the airline on top of the cost of a ticket. They charge even more if siblings are flying together.

American Airlines claims on their site that the service includes, “Early boarding to allow extra time to get settled and meet the flight attendants. Kids-only lounges in our hub cities for flight connections. Complimentary Kids’ Kits from Quaker with snacks and activities (for ages 5 – 10, in hub cities). An airport escort to help your child to the gate for flight connections Escorting the child to the authorized adult picking them up when they land.”

“Keep in mind, our flight attendants will be busy with onboard duties and can’t continuously monitor your child during their flight,” the site warns. “Let your child know to ring the call button if they need anything.”

The airline is now investigating the matter.

“American cares deeply about our young passengers and is committed to providing a safe and pleasant travel experience for them,” a statement from the airline asserted. “We take these matters very seriously and are looking into what occurred. A member of our team has reached out to the customer to learn more about their experience.”

“The utter failure by @American Airlines ,#tsa and #mia is absolutely unforgivable. The complete abandonment of a minor in their care, and the negligence displayed today, is criminal. Parents beware,” Gilliam posted on TikTok.

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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