During the holiday season, children and young teens might fly alone to visit family, but who's responsible for ensuring the child arrives safely? Poynter's Al Tompkins
tipped off journalists to an NBC investigation on how safe children are when they fly.
NBC followed 8-year-old Gina Lombardo on three different flights and three different airlines including Delta, AirTran and Continental. The investigation began in Fort Myers and continued on flights to Atlanta, Newark, Tampa and ended back in Fort Myers. NBC recorded how often she was left alone by airline attendants and how the child wandered off from airline employees and returned without the employees noticing.
Kara Kenney, who recorded the investigation on camera, wrote
on NBC's Web site:
The most egregious happened when Gina arrived in Fort Myers. No one
asked Gina's mother for identification or to sign the paperwork
Continental requires at the end of a flight.
Consider these questions, Al Tompkins wrote in
Al's Morning Meeting:
I can't imagine allowing a small child to fly alone this week when
airports are at their busiest. What happens to these kids when airlines
cancel flights, delays occur or mechanical issues force plane changes?
Are parents asking too much of the airlines?
