UK boy, 11, runs away from home - to Rome
Source: Agencies |
July 26, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE 11-year-old boy didn't have a passport, didn't have a ticket, didn't have a boarding pass, and somehow managed to get all the way from England to Italy.
Officials at Manchester airport and at the airline Jet2.com said yesterday they were investigating how the boy got aboard the flight to Rome and wasn't detected until the cabin crew identified him during the flight.
"This is an unusual and serious breach and we are keen to find out what has gone on," the government's transport secretary, Justine Greening, said.
The unusual incident took place on Tuesday amid heightened security concerns during the run-up to the Olympics.
The Manchester Evening News quoted Sarah Swayne, a passenger on the return flight, as saying the boy didn't seem fazed by the fuss.
"He just sat there chatting away about how he'd been trying to run away from home," Swayne was quoted as saying. "He seemed quite innocent, really, and I don't think it had sunk in how serious the situation was."
The newspaper said the boy had run away from his mother while they were shopping and then made his way to the airport 3 kilometers away.
An undisclosed number of security staff and airline employees have been suspended following the incident.
"It's not technically a breach of security," airport spokesman Russell Craig told the BBC. "The boy posed no threat to the aircraft. He went through a security process." Craig said CCTV images showed that the boy mingled with families moving through the airport on a busy day.
Jet2.com said the boy was returned to Manchester and reunited with his family.
Officials at Manchester airport and at the airline Jet2.com said yesterday they were investigating how the boy got aboard the flight to Rome and wasn't detected until the cabin crew identified him during the flight.
"This is an unusual and serious breach and we are keen to find out what has gone on," the government's transport secretary, Justine Greening, said.
The unusual incident took place on Tuesday amid heightened security concerns during the run-up to the Olympics.
The Manchester Evening News quoted Sarah Swayne, a passenger on the return flight, as saying the boy didn't seem fazed by the fuss.
"He just sat there chatting away about how he'd been trying to run away from home," Swayne was quoted as saying. "He seemed quite innocent, really, and I don't think it had sunk in how serious the situation was."
The newspaper said the boy had run away from his mother while they were shopping and then made his way to the airport 3 kilometers away.
An undisclosed number of security staff and airline employees have been suspended following the incident.
"It's not technically a breach of security," airport spokesman Russell Craig told the BBC. "The boy posed no threat to the aircraft. He went through a security process." Craig said CCTV images showed that the boy mingled with families moving through the airport on a busy day.
Jet2.com said the boy was returned to Manchester and reunited with his family.
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