Rubin Swift, an American, flew from Ohio to Phoenix for four hours, thinking only of his newborn daughter Ru-Andrea. Her mother refused the child, and the father took custody ahead of time; the only thing left was to pick up the child from the hospital and bring him home. But he had no idea that the bureaucracy had already planned a harsh rebuke for him.Rubin, being a good and caring father, decided to plan everything ahead of time.
He purchased Frontier Airlines tickets for the return flight and examined them at the counter to clarify: what are the rules for flying with a baby? He was told that he needed a birth certificate as well as a hospital certificate stating that he had no contraindications to flying. All of this went smoothly for the father, but when he arrived at the airport with a crumb of Ru-Andrea in his arms, he was told, “Wait, you can’t get on the plane.”
The documents were in order, but this airline’s internal rules allow flights for children who are at least 7 days old. Wait three days because Ru-Andrea was only four days old. Uh-huh, in the middle of the airport, with a baby in her arms. Rubin requested that the money for the ticket be returned to him; he will return home in another manner. However, airline representatives simply threw up their hands and said, “Sorry, not sooner than in seven days.”
And dad and daughter were left without money, a place to stay, or the chance to return home.While Rubin was flying halfway across the country for his daughter, she was immediately placed in the care of Joy, an ex-nurse who is now a hospital volunteer. And the discouraged father could think of nothing better than to ask her for assistance — he saw how an elderly woman held his daughter and knew she had a kind heart.
Rubin didn’t want to be impolite, so he planned to borrow a car or ask someone to drive him and his daughter home, despite the fact that the path is not close. Joy, on the other hand, insisted on having the father and daughter as her guests. What is three days of risk and commotion worth?Ru-Andrea and her father flew home quietly three days later, when she was seven days old.
The airline feels no guilt; rules are rules; but for ordinary Americans, this story exemplifies how mutual assistance and compassion can defeat bureaucracy. Joy recognized that Rubin and his daughter required assistance and welcomed a complete stranger into her home. But they’ve become best friends, and Rubin promised to answer her phone call at any time.