A 101-year-old woman named Patricia was mistaken for a baby during a recent flight due to an error in American Airlines' booking system.
A 101-year-old woman, identified only as Patricia, found herself at the center of a humorous yet slightly inconvenient situation due to an error in American Airlines' booking system. The mishap, which occurred during a recent flight between Chicago and Marquette, Michigan, saw Patricia being mistaken for a baby, much to the bemusement of both herself and the cabin crew.
The confusion arose from the airline's system failing to process Patricia's correct birth year, 1922, instead registering it as 2022. Consequently, Patricia's age was significantly underestimated, leading to the assumption that she was a small child rather than a centenarian.
Speaking to the BBC, Patricia shared her amusement at the mix-up, stating, "It was funny that they thought I was only a little child and I’m an old lady!" However, she also expressed her desire for the glitch to be rectified, as it has caused inconvenience on previous occasions.
One such instance saw airport staff failing to arrange transport for Patricia inside the terminal, expecting a baby who could be carried rather than an elderly woman. Despite the confusion, Patricia praised the kindness and assistance she received from American Airlines staff.
According to Patricia, the error stemmed from her daughter, Kris, booking the ticket online and the airport's computer system defaulting to a birth date a century later due to its inability to process such a distant date.
Although Patricia's seat was booked as an adult ticket, the recurring issue highlights a flaw in the airline's IT system, which overlooks individuals with birth dates far in the past.