An easy flight turned into a nightmare ordeal for the parent of a special needs child when her son was lost at the airport because his flight was diverted.
Joshua Arvin, a 15-year-old boy who has an Asperger's syndrome-like condition, was left in an unfamiliar city without any idea what to do next or who to ask for help because his flight from Idaho to Fort Lauderdale was diverted to Tampa. His mother, Tracy was tracking the progress of the flight from her home in South Florida.
"As soon as it changed from diverted to canceled, that's when I was worried," Tracy told WTSP. She immediately called the airline when she noticed a problem, but they weren't very helpful.
"They basically said, 'We can't do anything, we can't contact the airport, we can't do anything, we don't know where the flight is going, we can't help you,'" recalled Tracy.
The mother started to panic and called airport police. Police had found that her son went to the baggage claim area by himself and airport security camera showed him leaving the airport in a cab.
Joshua had tried to charter a bus to Tampa but after being told it would cost $5,000, he took a cab to the downtown bus station. At the bus station, he was told he couldn't board because he had no identification.
"To be totally lost out in the world and to not know where he was and how he was getting home and not to know where anyone was, it had to be the most horribly frightening thing for my son," said Tracy.
Joshua was found late at night wandering the streets of Tampa. Luckily he was found by a good Samaritan who was willing to help. The mother later thanked the woman.
"She asked him, 'Where are you trying to go?' and explained to him, 'You can't go back to the airport,' that it's closed up now, and asked if she could help him and that's when she called Joshua's dad."
Tampa Police officer Detective Lopez sent officers to pick the child up immediately and hold onto him until his parents could get to Tampa from South Florida.
"I'm so grateful for him," said Joshua's mother. "Detective Lopez was so amazing. He knows Joshua has special needs, he asked if Joshua can get anything to eat."
US Airways says situations like this is the reason it does not accept responsibility for unaccompanied minors on connecting flights.
Tracy said the incident taught her a lesson and she won't make the same mistake. "Unaccompanied minor or not, make sure your son or daughter has a charged cell phone and knows to ask an adult for help."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
