American Airlines’ Booking System Repeatedly Registers 101-Year-Old Passenger As Infant

(CTN News) – A 101-year-old woman named Patricia has encountered a peculiar predicament due to an airline’s booking system glitch.

Born in 1922, Patricia finds herself mistakenly identified as an infant by American Airlines’ system, which seemingly fails to compute her actual birth year. Consequently, her birth year defaults to 2022, causing confusion during check-ins and flights.

On one occasion, Patricia was left without her reserved wheelchair at a terminal as airport staff anticipated the arrival of an infant, not a centenarian.

Patricia’s Age Conundrum: Mistaken Identity at American Airlines

Both check-in personnel and cabin crew consistently found themselves taken aback, expecting to assist a child rather than an elderly passenger.

“It’s quite amusing that they mistake me for a little child when I’m actually a seasoned lady,” remarked Patricia, a former nurse, who was accompanied by her daughter Kris during these travels.

The mix-up arose from her daughter’s online reservation, wherein the airport’s computer erroneously registered Patricia’s birth year as 2022 instead of 1922, as recounted to the BBC’s cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy.

This confusion isn’t a one-time occurrence; it happened previously, with staff again anticipating a child, despite Patricia’s ticket being booked as an adult, not a child’s.

The most recent incident unfolded during a flight from Chicago to Marquette, Michigan, where Tidy, the BBC reporter, bore witness to the ongoing saga.

Patricia’s Travel Saga

Patricia shared that despite her advanced age, she has been an avid traveler, flying annually to visit family. However, confusion has ensued since she turned 100.

Until the age of 97, she traveled independently, but due to deteriorating eyesight, she began to rely on assistance from family members.

Expressing hope for a resolution, she expressed her desire for the airline to rectify their computer glitch, emphasizing the inconvenience her daughter faced in lugging their luggage over long distances.

Regrettably, American Airlines remained unresponsive to inquiries from the BBC.

Recalling a previous incident, Patricia and her daughter found themselves waiting inside the aircraft while others disembarked because a wheelchair had not been arranged for her.

Despite these challenges, Patricia remains undeterred, eagerly anticipating her next flight in the autumn, where she will celebrate her 102nd birthday.

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