Georgia mom swears off American Airlines after her unaccompanied 12-year-old daughter goes missing

A Georgia mom has slammed American Airlines for ‘losing’ her 12-year-old daughter who was flying alone from Tennessee to Miami.

Monica Gilliam, 39, a photography professor, spoke out about the nightmare scenario on TikTok in a post that has gone viral, racking up more than 157,000 views and more than 19,000 comments.

‘It’s not OK and it shouldn’t happen,’ she said in the video. 

Monica Gilliam, left, took to TikTok to vent about a call that she got from American Airlines telling her that her daughter was ‘lost’ in Miami airport 

Last week, she paid an extra $150 for a chaperone for her tween daughter who was flying alone as an ‘unaccompanied minor’ from Chattanooga Airport to visit the girl’s dad in Florida for a three-week visit, according to Fox News.

Gilliam’s child was wearing a lanyard with her name and flight information, like a shipping label, so that her identity and guardian could be identified. 

As part of the service, flight attendants or airline personnel were supposed to escort the child from the aircraft to their parent or guardian on the other end of the flight, ensuring their identity before releasing the child into their care.

A representative from American Airlines told Gilliam that they shut down Miami airport looking for her 12-year-old daughter who they had lost sight of

Monica Gilliam feared that her daughter was wandering unattended in what she called ‘the largest human trafficking hubs in the country’

That didn’t happen to Gilliam’s daughter, Kimber, she said in a viral post.

‘Almost an hour after her flight landed, I got a call from American Airlines,’ the furious mom said in the video.

‘It was the American Airlines manager at Miami and he says ‘your child is missing, we’ve shut down the terminal, we don’t know where she is.’

The child’s flight had landed early and instead of an escort, the child was ushered off the plane with a wave from the flight attendants, Gilliam said.

‘It turns out that the flight attendants waved her off the plane and said ‘bye’ and she didn’t know what to do so she kept going because they were telling her ‘bye’ so she kept walking.’

The child wandered through the terminal, an image that shook Gilliam to her core.

‘So she’s going through the airport with that billboard on her, that she was an unaccompanied minor in one of the largest human trafficking hubs in the country,’ she said on TikTok.

 The child was able to get in touch with the dad and he talked her through the airport until they met up without further drama, but that doesn’t let the airline off the hook.

‘On the way out, no American Airlines employees stopped her to see if she had an adult, not one Miami airport employee stopped her and even the TSA security agent-before she left the secure area into baggage claim-stopped her.’

The airline said that they are investigating the incident.

‘American cares deeply about our young passengers and is committed to providing a safe and pleasant travel experience for them,’ according to the airline’s statement. ‘We take these matters very seriously and are looking into what occurred. A member of our team has reached out to the customer to learn more about their experience.’

That’s cold comfort for Gilliam who still seemed traumatized by the experience.

‘I don’t want this to happen to anyone else and if your child is flying an unaccompanied flight with American Airlines, then consider that,’ Gilliam said. ‘It’s not OK and it shouldn’t happen.’