JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville and Jamaica — they're two tropical beach destinations that both begin with "J." So, it makes sense for an airline to mix them up, right?
One New Jersey woman told news outlets she was boarding her usual flight from Philadelphia to visit her second home in Florida when a mishap landed her in the Caribbean island nation.
And while a surprise overseas vacation may sound like a dream to most, Beverly Ellis-Hebard had one major problem — she didn't have her passport.
Ellis-Hebard told news station WPVI that everything about her travel day was going as planned until she stepped away from her gate to use the restroom.
The woman said she was told she had 20 minutes, but when she got back to the gate, the flight was almost fully boarded and the jetway door was about to close.
Scrambling with the gate agent to make the flight, Ellis-Hebard said she frantically pulled out her boarding pass and was rushed onto the plane.
That's when she found out she was flying about 900 miles away from her destination.
"[The flight attendant] said, 'Look at me. This plane is going to Jamaica.' And I knew by the look on her face she wasn't joking," Ellis-Hebard told WPVI.
Once the plane landed, Jamaican authorities allowed Ellis-Hebard to stay in the jetway until her flight back to Philadelphia took off a few hours later, the news station reported.
So, how did this happen? Frontier only told WPVI reporters that the issue was addressed with airport personnel.
The discount airline reportedly offered Ellis-Hebard a full refund and a $600 voucher to use for future travel.
Frontier sent the following statement to the news station:
"We extend our utmost apologies to Beverly Ellis-Hebard for this unfortunate experience. We sincerely regret that Ms. Ellis-Hebard was able to board the wrong flight.
As a gesture of our apology, we have issued a $600 Frontier Airlines flight voucher tied to the name Beverly Ellis-Hebard that is valid for one year."
This mishap comes as the Biden administration is pushing to require airlines to compensate travelers and cover their expenses if they are stranded for reasons within the airline's control. The new rules would give U.S. travelers protections similar to those in the European Union.