Girl Crisscrosses U.S. in Airline Mix-Up

An 11-year-old girl, accompanied by an airline employee, arrived in Detroit almost 24 hours after leaving Los Angeles because of an airline mix-up.

Aunnalise Woods’ mother took her to Los Angeles International Airport Saturday morning, and she departed on an America West flight to Phoenix. She was then supposed to fly to Detroit, where her father was waiting for her at the airport, said her grandmother Sheila Hawkins.

But she was placed on the wrong flight in Phoenix and flew to Orlando, Fla., instead.

“When she didn’t arrive in Detroit, her father and mother were frantic,” Hawkins said. “When we tried to find out what was going on, the airline people didn’t know.”

It wasn’t until Saturday night that Aunnalise’s parents were told where she was, Hawkins said. The airline then sent her to Detroit via Las Vegas. She arrived in Detroit Sunday morning, Hawkins said.

“All we know at this point is that the child was put on the wrong flight,” said Jim Sabourin, a spokesman for Tempe, Ariz.-based America West. “Something went wrong in our process.”

Sabourin said the airline gave the girl’s father $400 worth of vouchers for the inconvenience.

Aunnalise lives in the Palms area with her mother, a preschool teacher, and Hawkins.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.