- Flavia Hagan said American did not return her son's passport and Green Card after his journey.
- She realized a week after his unaccompanied flights that the documents were not in his bag.
A "frustrated" mother of an 11-year-old who was traveling alone said American Airlines lost her son's passport and green card as he traveled home to Austin, Texas.
Flavia Hagan told Insider that the passport and Green Card were not returned to her and she only realized a week later when checking his bag.
Her son had to take three flights from Recife in Brazil to get back to Austin on July 27.
Hagan's problems have been revealed as other issues relating to the airline's unaccompanied minor programme have emerged over the summer. Last month, American canceled a 10-year-old's flight but failed to tell her parents.
"It's a horrible situation to be in," Hagan told Insider. "I'm very frustrated, mad and upset with the situation."
A flight attendant took the documents, including the boarding pass, from her son while escorting him through immigration at Austin, but failed to return them afterwards.
"When I went back to the airport they said it wasn't there," Hagan said.
American Airlines initially told her on August 4 in a Twitter direct message seen by Insider: "It seems that the passport was sent to our Central Baggage office."
She tried calling the office four times but was unable to speak to anyone so then submitted a lost item report.
However, a customer service agent then told Hagan on August 11 in another Twitter direct message that the documents were not in their possession.
Hagan said her son was visiting her father in hospital in Brazil and that if his condition worsens then her son will not be able to go back because he does not have the documents.
She now has to deal with immigration to get a replacement Green Card, which she said will be expensive. She will also need to obtain a new passport which will be difficult as she needs to get authorization from her son's father.
"It's a mess, I will also need to hire a lawyer and then wait a long time to get his passport," Hagan said.
American told her it was doing "everything we can" to help recover the lost items in a Twitter message seen by Insider. However, it did not offer to reimburse Hagan for the cost of a replacement passport and Green Card.
American Airlines did not respond to Insider's request for comment.