Now young (9-year old) Semaj Booker lives near Tacoma, a suburb of Seattle. It seems he does not like it much. He had also been in trouble with the police for stealing a car! Last week he found his way to the local airport and finished up in San Antonio ”deep in the heart of Texas.”
A Southwest Airlines spokesperson told the local radio station: "This is a highly unusual situation that is still being investigated. What we know at this point is that the young man presented himself as a 12-year old to our SEA (Seattle) ticket counter, requesting a boarding pass and saying that his mother was already in the boarding area. The young man's information matched a paid, ticketless reservation for the flight. Based on the information he gave us, he was issued a boarding pass."
It seems he was trying to get to Dallas, which is also in Texas.
Southwest says when the ”plane arrived in San Antonio, he tried to board a plane for Dallas but did not have information that matched any reservation. Police then took him into custody.
Does ABTN give him an award? On balance we think not. We do not wish to encourage any other precocious junior schoolboys just 4” 9” tall. Or school girls for that matter.
Image: Taken from TSA.gov