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Delta finally reinstates flights for unaccompanied minors, after days of confusion and frustration
An embargo on flights for minors flying solo had been in place since Saturday, leaving many families separated.
MINNEAPOLIS — There’s nothing minor about Delta’s multi-day meltdown, especially if you are a minor.
On Wednesday, Delta finally began resuming flights for kids 18 and under who are traveling alone, after pushing back an embargo of its unaccompanied minor program several times since last Friday.
“We just kept rescheduling and it just kept getting canceled,” said 13-year-old David Ikeda, who was supposed to fly home to Washington DC on Saturday after spending a few days visiting his grandparents and cousins in Minneapolis.
“At least we’ve made the most of it,” said Cindy Ikeda, David’s grandma. “He got a haircut and he had plenty of extra cousin time.”
The five day delay has been considerably less fun for David’s parents.
“It would be nice to know when my son is going to get back here,” said John Ikeda, David’s dad.
John spent several hours over several days trying to rebook an unaccompanied minor flight home, but each time Delta pushed back it’s embargo on the program.
“We didn’t even get great communication about what was happening,” John said. “We just kept getting these random emails saying they were pushing it back further and further.”
Allison Iacone said she didn’t even realize the embargo applied to her 16 year old daughter, Gigi, until she was trying to fly home from Baltimore to Duluth on Tuesday.
“(Gigi) checked herself in on her Delta app the night before. They accepted her check-in. She had no idea that the unaccompanied warning was going to apply to her because she doesn’t ever use any of those services,” Iacone said. “She didn’t find out that she couldn’t get on the plane until she arrived at the airport out in Baltimore.”
The unaccompanied minor program typically applies to families who pay a fee to have escorts for children between the ages of 5-14.
Delta sent a statement to KARE 11 about the confusion on Wednesday:
“Delta embargoed minor and unaccompanied minor travel, beginning July 19, to protect minors from being separated from their families and caregivers in the event of flight disruptions or cancellations. We take seriously the trust caregivers place in us with their children’s travel, and sincerely apologize that that trust was compromised through confusion around the embargo. The embargo has been lifted, as of July 24.”
Despite that message, Allison showed KARE 11 messages she received from customer service agents who appeared to be unclear on whether older minors, like Gigi, were included in the embargo.
“The answer I kept getting was, ‘Well, she should be able to.’ Not, she will be able to, but she should be able to,” she said. “Which is not really what any parent wants to hear.”
Gigi did eventually find a flight home to Duluth and arrived on Wednesday night. But she received little more than apology for her extra night in Baltimore.
“Nothing, she asked, ‘Do you give vouchers for food? How do you handle that?'” Allison said. “And they just said, ‘Where are you going?’ She said, ‘I’m going back to my friend’s house.’ They said, ‘Yeah, we don’t give you anything for that. These kids should have been the ones who they had their eyes on rather than just turning them away and saying go home.”
Despite being a loyal Delta customer for decades, John says he’s never been more disappointed in an airline.
“I get that there were issues, but I would have expected that Delta would have prioritized unaccompanied minors,” he said.
John was so frustrated that he opted to book a different flight home for David, with American Airlines on Tuesday.
“We got to the gate, everything looked good,” Ikeda said.
And then it was canceled right when they got to the gate.
“At least (David) can just come back out and hang with grandma and grandpa for another couple of days and see his cousins another time,” Ikeda said.
Just one more major — or minor — inconvenience, depending on your perspective.
MINNEAPOLIS — How much do you know about your grandma’s upbringing?
“The Stories From My Grandmother’s Hands” is a book that aims to show young Black children how their grandmas lived through beautiful illustrations and descriptions.
KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
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