Airline removes 14-year-old girl from flight over 'weight imbalance', leaves her alone at airport

A 14-year-old girl was left stranded after an airline removed her from a flight over a weight imbalance.

Camryn Larkan boarded a Porter Airlines flight from Toronto, Canada to Victoria on August 30 after visiting family, the CBC reports. However, after she took her seat, a flight attendant said she had to exit the aircraft.

“I was kind of just like really confused ... I thought I was coming back to my seat. I thought that they were just going to take my bags,” Camryn told the CBC. “As soon as I got off the plane and I saw that the door had closed, that’s when I started to, like, get really anxious.”

Thankfully, Larkan’s father, who dropped her off at the airport, was able to go pick her up.

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“I’m just glad that my dad was there because if he wasn’t I would have been alone,” Larkan added. She was stuck in Toronto overnight and rebooked a flight for the next day.

Porter Airlines removed Larkan from the flight due to a weight imbalance but staff did not know she was an unaccompanied minor, a spokesperson said.

“Our team asked for volunteers to travel the following day to Victoria. When none came forward, passengers were selected based on their fare type. It was not known to our team at the time that Camryn was a minor,” spokesperson Robyn van Teunenbroek told the CBC.

Parents can purchase an unaccompanied minor plan for their kids over 12 for $100, the CBC reports. The service is required for children ages 8 to 11. The plan ensures kids can’t be deplaned.

However, Larkan’s parents did not know about the service — which means Larkan was treated as an adult by the airline.

Her mother, Catherine Larkan, said the service should be automatically provided to kids 12 and older.

“They put my child in imminent danger,” Catherine Larkan told the CBC. “It was completely negligent and it shouldn’t happen to any other minor.”

“They’re providing a service saying we know these people are at-risk and they’re saying if you don’t [pay for] the service, you’re treated as any other adult passenger travelling,” she added. “It’s just absolutely ludicrous.”

The Independent