Passenger travelling to see dying mother kicked off United flight due to ticketing error

A passenger missed saying goodbye to her dying mother after being removed from a United Airlines flight on 16 January due to a ticketing error.

Carrol Amrich of Pueblo, Colorado, was due to fly from Colorado Springs via Denver to Minnesota, where her mother, Dixie J. Hanson, lay in a hospital bed having suffered heart failure.

She had checked in and boarded the plane, and was already sitting in her seat with seatbelt fastened when a United gate agent came to tell her the ticket had been voided and that she would no longer be permitted to fly.

Earlier that day Ms Amrich, unable to afford the plane ticket, had been helped out by her landlord, Ines Prelas, reports The New York Times.

Ms Prelas first purchased the flight for the following day, 17 January, from online travel agency Traveler Help Desk.

However, once it became clear that Ms Hanson’s condition had deteriorated to such an extent that she might not survive the night, Ms Prelas got in touch with United directly and requested to change the flight to one departing that afternoon at 5.15pm.

She claims she informed the United representative that the original booking was done through an online agency and was told there would be no problem.

She drove Ms Amrich from Pueblo to the airport, where the latter was checked-in and allowed to board without a hitch.

However, the change in booking, done directly through United, caused Traveler Help Desk to automatically cancel the ticket.

Traveler Help Desk supervisor Ms Gallant told The New York Times that the agency had no way of knowing Ms Amrich had amended the booking herself, and so the ticket was voided to protect her.

“It is tragic,” she said. “Had she contacted us directly to make the change, this all would have been avoided.”

Having been removed from the plane, Ms Amrich called her landlord in tears. Ms Prelas offered to buy a new ticket on her credit card, but by that time the flight had already departed.

Desperate to say a final goodbye to her mother, Ms Amrich drove through the night without stopping.

But it was too late.

“I cried the whole way from Pueblo,” she said. “I drove 1,000 miles, and she was gone before I got here.”

A spokesperson from United Airlines told The Independent: “We found that Ms Amrich’s ticket was cancelled by the travel agency she purchased the ticket from and would refer questions regarding her ticket to the agency. Ms Amrich was unable to purchase a new ticket at the gate as the aircraft had already departed and that was the last flight of the evening to her destination. She was issued a full refund for the ticket and fees.

“Our sincerest condolences are with our customer and her family.”