Amber Vencill, a Florida mother, alleges her 12 and 10-year-old sons who were travelling alone, were left without food, water, blankets or pillows after their flight was cancelled. She also claims she was given conflicting information on the boys’ rescheduled flight and was unable to speak with them for hours.

Vencill is filing a lawsuit against American Airlines after she claims the airline lost her two children after putting them in a room overnight that was similar to a jail cell while they were traveling by themselves.

The boys, who have only been named as ‘JV’ and ‘RV,’ were using American Airlines’ unaccompanied minor service on July 30, 2022.

They were scheduled to take a flight from Missouri to upstate New York, where Vencill’s partner was to pick them up following a layover in Charlotte.

The flight was delayed, and eventually cancelled and the airline called Vencill’s identified as ‘Ted.’

According to the suit, American Airlines officials told Ted, that Vencill’s sons would be in a “nice room for unaccompanied minors where there were beds and their own bathroom.”

Shortly after, American emailed Vencill at 11:40pm on July 30, telling her the kids were schedule to fly at 5pm the next day, according to Insider.

The conflicting information left the distraught mother with “no idea what flight her children would be on.”

A phone number American Airlines provided proved useless and she spent hours unable to get in touch with her children until an employee at Charlotte’s Douglas International Airport connected her to one of the kids.

The son provided horrifying details, according to the suit, claiming they “had not had anything to eat or drink since the night before, not even a pretzel or snacks that are usually given out by the airline.”

The employee, whom Vencill described as “kind” in the suit, was able to finally get the boys some food and drink.

“The worst part was they were in an airport, they could have been taken anywhere,” said David Jaroslawicz, Vencill’s attorney. “They were in an airport with all sorts of nuts around.”

The room they were given was described as “akin to a jail cell” that was “freezing” cold and were forced to try to sleep on a sofa with the lights on.

Vencill was refunded $150 in a fee for the unaccompanied minors’ expenses, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit describes the children as now scared to fly after what they describe as behavior against American’s policies, calling it “reckless, careless, and negligent.”

“Particularly offensive is that after learning of their clear failures, defendant merely offered a hollow apology and a refund, in essence telling plaintiff, sorry we lost your kids lady but here is your money back,” the lawsuit says.

The suit is seeking an undisclosed amount for damages.