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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.
Last week, prosecutors charged John Sawchak with attempted 2nd-degree murder and other felony charges after he allegedly shot his neighbor Davis Moturi.
MINNEAPOLIS — Following the shooting between two neighbors, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to request that the city’s auditor conduct an independent investigation into the incidents and cases between Davis Moturi and John Sawchak.
Moturi was allegedly shot by his neighbor, Sawchak, on Wednesday, Oct. 23 but Minneapolis police did not arrest Sawchak until days later.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara defended not arresting Sawchak sooner, calling it a “high-risk” situation. O’Hara later said the victim, who had complained about harassment from Sawchak for months, was failed by police. Sawchak was arrested this past weekend after an hours-long standoff.
Moturi suffered a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion in the shooting. “Mr. Moturi’s life matters and I’m sorry that for nearly a year, MPD did not treat it like it did,” said Council Member Robin Wonsley in a news release, “Today’s vote affirms that the City Council is committed to taking meaningful actions towards accountability and restoration, starting with this independent review.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released this statement:
“Mayor Frey fully supports an independent review of this incident. The mayor and City are committed to always doing better, and this means closely examining past actions and finding where there may be ways to improve and grow. The mayor extends his condolences to Davis Moturi, his wife, Caroline, and their family and friends. The safety of our residents is a top priority and any form of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and does not align with who we are as a community. Brian O’Hara will continue to be the Minneapolis Police Chief.”
“This Valentine’s Day, 2025, will mark the five-year anniversary of the premiere of ‘Love is Blind,” Vanessa said on the Season 7 finale. “And, it is gonna be the launch of Season 8, which takes place in Minneapolis.”
The episode also revealed three of the new cast members, one of whom, “Alex,” told Lachey Minneapolis is “not like a major city, but it’s also not a small town,” which he said is just one of the obstacles in his way of finding the one.
“I just never found the right person that clicked for me,” he said.
Meantime, you can bone up on Seasons 1-7 streaming now on Netflix.
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.
