Mom says her Kids Flying to Syracuse were Treated like Prisoners

Stranded kids allegedly mistreated by American Airlines

A mom in Florida filed a lawsuit against American Airlines recently, alleging that they mistreated her two young kids, who were traveling alone to Upstate NY.

Amber Vencill claims that the boys were delayed in getting to their final destination in Syracuse NY back in July 2022 and were stranded in Charlotte when a connecting flight to Upstate NY was cancelled.

Getty Images

"Vencill had paid American Airlines for unaccompanied minor service, about $150 each way, for her two sons – a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old – so they could travel from Missouri to New York to visit her partner's family. The trip had a layover in Charlotte, North Carolina." ABC News

According to ABC News, Vencill sued the airline for the mistreatment of her two children, ages 10 and 12, after they were placed overnight in a "cold room akin to a jail cell" while they waited for the connecting flight to visit her partner in Syracuse.

Vencill claims that the airline assured her partner that her two boys would be well taken care of while they stayed the night in Charlotte awaiting the connecting flight.

According to the report, they were told the boys "would be placed in a nice room for unaccompanied minors where there were beds and their own bathroom," but if we're to believe Vencill's allegations, that didn't happen.

No food, no drinks

Making matters worse, Vencill told reporters that her boys didn't travel with cell phones, and she wasn't able to contact them for several hours after their flight was canceled.

According to ABC News, Vencill asked "if they had anything to eat or drink. And they were like, 'No, mom."

No help from American Airlines

The next day, the young boys did make it to Syracuse, but no thanks to the staff of American Airlines.

The report states that it was an airport employee, not one from American Airlines, who eventually gave the kids food and drink before they boarded a flight to Syracuse, New York the next day.

The 9 Best Fried Chicken Sandwiches in the Capital Region, Ranked!

Ever since Chic-Fil-A added two more restaurants in the Capital Region, there's been a lot of "clucking" in our area about who has the "best-tasting" chicken sandwich.

We decided to post the question on our various social media platforms, and the results were pretty interesting.

For the purpose of our survey, we didn't care if it was made at a local mom-and-pop style pub, tavern, or restaurant or if it was made by a multi-billion dollar national chain.

If Capital Region residents knew of a place that builds a delicious, golden-fried chicken sandwich, we wanted to hear about it.

Here are the Top 9 Chicken Sandwiches of the Capital Region, Ranked!

Gallery Credit: Brian Cody TSM Albany

See The Capital Region's 10 Best Cider Donuts For 2023 [RANKED]

As we enjoy the last fleeting moments of summer 2023, there is a silver lining to the end of the season. We will soon replace summer concerts with all of our favorite Upstate New York autumn activities like pumpkin picking, leaf peeping, and indulging in our season favorite - CIDER DONUTS! We have a LONG list of great cider donut spots, but to determine the best of the best we once again went to our listeners to determine which ones to visit this year. So Who serves the best cider donuts in the Capital Region? Here are the top 10 for autumn 2023 according to you - with 3 new spots on this year's list!

Gallery Credit: Matty Jeff

See the Capital Region's 5 Biggest Ice Cream Cones [RANKED]

It is pretty much a fact that every stand has GREAT ice cream. But which stands serve up the biggest cones? Ya know, the ones where it is a race to eat 'em before they melt on a hot summer day? We asked our listeners who serves up the biggest scoops and soft serve - and there are the homes of the 5 biggest Captial Region Ice Cream cones!

Gallery Credit: Matty Jeff