In what can only be described as a tragicomedy of modern travel, an American woman recently became the accidental protagonist of her own international incident when she flew halfway around the world attempting to reach Florida, only to emerge confused and allegedly detained in a German airport for days. Her crime, as best as any global authority can deduce, appears to be ignorance of geography combined with a can-do attitude toward layovers.
Stephanie Cruz booked a flight from Philadelphia to Jacksonville, Florida, which any diligent high school student with a globe should recognize as a trip containing precisely zero German territory. However, it seems the labyrinthine logic of the booking brought her to Frankfurt as part of a particularly scenic detour, the kind usually reserved for industrial shipping routes or reality television. Cruz told reporters she was stranded there without explanation, food or bedding and claims she was treated poorly by both airline staff and airport officers.
To make matters just a touch more Kafkaesque, Cruz alleges that she was held in a windowless airport basement room for nearly five days without any official charges. She was eventually released back into the free world where she promptly did what anyone coping with severe jet lag and mild trauma would do — she contacted the media.
Germany’s federal police, likely bewildered at finding themselves in a diplomatic tangle over a Florida-bound baggage mishap, issued a statement clarifying that Cruz had arrived in Frankfurt without valid paperwork to continue the trip. According to them, she was not detained but rather placed in a “planned return procedure.” In other words, she was gently but firmly reminded that international travel still requires a passport and not just plucky optimism.
United Airlines, who presumably thought their largest challenge of the week would be running out of pretzels at 35,000 feet, is now investigating, while Cruz is considering legal action and quite possibly brushing up on cartography. One thing is certain — next time she intends to arrive in Jacksonville without first circumnavigating the European Union.
Who knew trying to reach Florida could end in Frankfurt and philosophical reflection?