Airline snooze turns one-way into round-trip

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Air Malta officials said the airplane was not a place for sleeping.

SOFIA, Bulgaria - A sleeping teenager flew home to Bulgaria and then back to Malta after the air crew apparently failed to notice she was still on the plane.

Maria Ilieva, 17, was traveling alone and fell asleep on an Air Malta plane taking her overnight from Valletta to Sofia.

Unfortunately she had returned to Malta by the time she woke up, the girl's family said Friday

"Air Malta officials said the airplane was not a place for sleeping. But I have not seen any signs saying 'no sleeping'; I have only seen signs saying 'no smoking,'" the girl's mother, Nadezhda Vulova, told Reuters.

Maria was finally reunited with her family Thursday, almost four days after her sleepover. She had to pay 200 euros ($256) for the second flight home.

The family said it had filed a complaint against the airline and asked for a refund. Air Malta was not immediately available for comment.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14628740/?GT1=8506

[YuAndDan 153]

Sometimes I hear about a school bus driver leaving a sleeping kid on the bus after his route is done, but this takes the cake. Usualy the driver gets cited or fired.

The airline should have not charged since it was their mistake for not checking the plane at the end of the flight. A refund and an apology is in order.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

That seems odd. I've been woken up by flight attendents over food - why they didn't wake her makes no sense.

[Sinergy 3]

If sleeping isnt allowed on airplanes, whats the deal with the pillow and blanket?

[Veiled Princess 1]

If sleeping isnt allowed on airplanes, whats the deal with the pillow and blanket?

Right!

[wasino 0]

To me, that's just weird that no one noticed her. I used to work for an airline, and after a plane came in and everybody got off, workers would go on the plane and groom the plane (pick up the garbage, straighten the seats, re-stock the supplies). Every seat needed attention. Before a flight takes off, the flight attendant also checks it out.

If it was an international flight, a security check had to be completed before any new passengers could board---you examine under each seat, the seat itself, the pouches were magazines are kept, and the overhead bins, the bathrooms, etc.

That airline must have different rules than the one i worked for. My ### would have been grass as an employee if I hadn't noticed that someone was still on the plane!

I also think it's weird that none of the other passengers on the plane had the curtesy to wake her up. Very odd to me!

[Henia 11]

#######

[Fuzzness 2]

landing is usually enough to wake up anybody. how did she not wake up? and dont they clean the cabin between flights? must be one messy plane

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

It must have been really strange to wake up and see different people on the plane and you were now landing where you thought you took off. Twilight Zone sh!t.