Arrived Late At Gate, Denied Boarding On Mission Trip

A church youth group consisting of 40 kids missed a flight to Mexico after a check-in experience that the youth pastor described as "chaotic" at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (KCVG).

Fox News reports that the group had been raising money for the trip for two years. The arrived at the airport two hours early for their flight on American Airlines to Leon, Mexico, but the check-in process took 90 minutes, according to youth pastor William Davis.

In a facebook post, Davis said the American Airlines employee who initially tried to check in the group attempted to do so all under his name. When that didn't work the entire group had to be checked in again. The end result was that the group was three minutes late getting to the gate. They were told the doors to the airplane were closed, and they would not be allowed to board.

The group watched from the window as their bags were taken off the plane, according to the report.

The group was able to rebook on a flight the next day, but the cost was nearly $2,000 for a hotel and breakfast, as well as the money they had already spent on hotel rooms in Mexico. The were not offered any compensation by the airline.

Davis said that American says that it was their own fault for being late and missing the plane, and there was nothing to be done. American told Fox News the incident is under investigation.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report