Mom Furious After Unaccompanied 14-Year-Old Daughter Was Forced Off Flight, Left Alone at Toronto Airport
A spokesperson for Canada's Porter Airlines said they weren't aware the girl was a minor when they removed her from the aircraft
CBC News/Youtube
Catherine and Camryn Larkan14-year-old Camryn Larkan was removed from a Porter Airlines flight after she was already seated on the plane
She was traveling alone for the second time ever when the incident occurred on Friday, Aug. 30
A spokesperson for the airline claims that crew members were “unaware” that Camryn was a minor when they asked her to get off due to a weight imbalance issue
An unaccompanied minor was forced off a Porter Airlines flight in Toronto, leaving her parents outraged and accusing the company of endangering her.
Camryn Larkan, 14, was heading home to Victoria, Canada and was already seated when crew members told her she needed to get off the aircraft, PEOPLE confirms. Camryn, who was traveling alone for the second time ever, was reportedly not given any support or guidance from the Canadian airline during the Aug. 30 incident, according to the CBC.
Her mom, Catherine, told the outlet, "They put my child in imminent danger. It was completely negligent and it shouldn't happen to any other minor."
A representative for Porter Airlines tells PEOPLE, Camryn was removed "due to a weight and balance issue. The crew asked for volunteers to be rebooked the next day. "When none came forward, passengers were selected based on their fare type."
The statement continues. "It was not known to our team at the time that Camryn was a minor. Camryn quickly left the airport and there was limited opportunity for our team to discuss options with her."
Getty
Porter Airlines planeSpeaking to the CBC, Camryn says she was “glad” her dad was still in the area and was able to return to the airport and pick her up, otherwise “I would have been alone.”
Redistributing passengers and baggage due to a weight imbalance issue is not uncommon, especially on smaller aircrafts. However, Camryn says the airline did not convey that information to her at the time, leaving her shocked when the plane took off without her.
"I was kind of just like really confused... I thought I was coming back to my seat,” she says. “I thought that they were just going to take my bags. 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."
Porter Airlines offers an “unaccompanied minor service” for travelers ages 8 to 17 that is designed to assist children flying without their parents, a representative confirmed to PEOPLE. The service is mandatory for passengers ages 8 to 11 and optional for ages 12-17 and costs $100.
The service "provides dedicated supervision by Porter team members and exemption from involuntary deplaning," the representative explained, adding, "This service is at the discretion of the family to decide whether the passenger is capable of flying independently. In Camryn's case, the unaccompanied minor service was not purchased."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Catherine said she was unaware of the service and claims it’s “ludicrous” for the airline to treat her 14-year-old daughter like she’s an “independent adult” while traveling alone.
"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 traveling," Catherine told the CBC.
The Porter representative adds that Camryn's family is in touch with their customer relations team and notes the airline has "already begun working on additional options to minimize the possibility of this happening in the future."
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
