Boy with Tourette's refused flight for bomb remark

Family picture

Armed police marched a 13-year-old boy with Tourette syndrome out of an airport after he shouted “bomb”, leaving him and his family stranded.

British Airways (BA) refused Mason and his family, from Harwich in Essex, entry to a Spain-bound flight at the gate due to safety risks.

His dad, Martyn, 39, said the “horrendous” experience at London Gatwick Airport on Saturday brought him to tears, and accused the airline of discrimination.

A spokeswoman for BA said it was “an extremely difficult, complex and distressing situation”, adding Mason’s condition was not the reason for its decision.

“Due to a number of contributing factors, the decision was made not to allow the group to travel on the flight,” she said.

The family, who spent £4,000 on the flights for a group of 10, warned BA staff the day before of what Mason might say, as he was anxious about flying.

Tourette syndrome is a neurological condition that causes people to make involuntary sounds or movements, known as tics.

Martyn said everything went “seamlessly” until they reached the gate, despite Mason, who was wearing a sunflower lanyard and had his diagnosis letter with him, shouting the word “bomb” several times.

Family picture

As they tried to board the flight, a manager denied them entry and, in a video of the confrontation, said: “We are not refusing him because he’s got a disability.

“We are refusing him because there’s been a threat made that he has a bomb in his bag.”

Martyn told the BBC: “Everyone was in tears because we’ve been waiting for this holiday for a long time.”

Armed police escorted Mason out of the airport with his dad, mum Gemma, 36, and his one-year-old sister, Ariella.

They had to spend the night in a hotel before paying £2,400 for new flights with Vueling on Sunday.

However, Mason’s 16-year-old sister, Layla, was allowed to board the flight with their family friends.

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“I’m not a very emotional person and I was brought to tears,” Martyn said.

“My wife was also crying her eyes out for Mason, as he’s been looking forward to this holiday for an extremely long time.”

“To get him right to the check-in desk and then be turned away was just heartbreaking for the poor kid. It was absolutely horrendous.”

The family missed the first day of their holiday, but made it to Alicante on Sunday.

They said it was important to get there so Mason could know “he shouldn’t be treated differently to anyone else” and hoped BA staff would learn lessons from how they saw the incident.

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British Airways