Boca Raton, FL is home to Kenton Weaver, a 13 year old boy who suffers from autism. Kenton has always loved airplanes and dreams for one day becoming a pilot.
Kenton has been known to escape from home and attempt to travel to the airport. However, on a beautiful day in April Kenton finally made it to the airport. Only this time he was driving his father’s car. Kenton not only made it to the airport without putting a scratch on the car, he also flew all the way to San Jose, California with a couple of connecting flights. The worst part of this entire debacle is that Kenton never had an id only his report card that he used as his id.
According to Southwest Airlines, the boy “presented a valid ticket for travel and underwent security to board his flight”. In addition, the Transportation Security Administrations Web site states that under federal law, “only travelers 18 and older are required to show identification”. Southwest continued to state that minors are allowed to travel alone as long as an “Unaccompanied Minor” is completed. It was not confirmed whether or not this form was completed.
When you hear a story like this you wonder if people that work at airport really pay attention to what they are doing. If you were working for the airport, wouldn’t you find it a little strange that a 13 year old child is purchasing his own plane ticket, has no luggage and no one to fill out the “Unaccompanied Minor” form? It’s a little scary that airport staff does not use their instincts to realize when things don’t seem right. If a 13 year old boy fooled the system anyone with a good plan could fool the system.
No comments:
Post a Comment