11 year old boy flies to Italy with no ticket or family

Liam Corcoran (Photo source: telegraph.co.uk)

11 year old boy flies to Italy with no ticket or family

Authorities are investigating just how an 11 year old boy flies to Italy completely unattended from Manchester, England to Rome, Italy with no ticket or family accompanying him.

The 11 year old boy, Liam Corcoran, 11, had an argument with mother and ran away from her.

Here is how the 11 year olds adventure unfolded:

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After getting away from his mother, he boarded a bus at the Wythenshawe Civic Centre.  He knew the bus headed to the airport. Since he didn’t have a ticket, he simply picked up a discarded one that he found on the floor.  It had the right date on and Corcoran was not questioned.

Boy eludes airport security

He then ended up at the airport and passed through 5 security checkpoints undetected.  It is believed that he walking close to other families and that is why no one questioned him.  He later said,

“I didn’t have anything on me and no one asked me for anything. They smiled at me when I went through.”

He claims that he was simply looking for a restroom and kept going until he ended up on a plane. He told the Sun,

“I went in the toilet and sat there but I couldn’t get out. Then — whoosh! — we were going up in the sky.”

The plane was more than half way into its 1,500-mile flight to Rome before little Liam was detected. After a brief time in the Italian capital, he was put on a plane home.

His mother, Mary, was very upset at the whole ordeal and said,

“I can’t get my head around it. How did he get that far without anyone asking him one question? I just keep thinking how easy it would be for a terrorist. It’s unbelievable.”

That’s the question that the world is asking.  An 11 year old boy flies to Italy with no ticket or family accompanying him! Didn’t anyone notice anything?  How on earth could an unaccompanied 11 year old boy, wearing flip flops and a Spiderman t-shirt who had no ticket nor luggage breeze though 5 security checkpoints, hide in the restroom and not be detected?

Five staff members have been suspended and the investigation continues.  Four of the checkpoints were operated by Jet2, the airline the boy flew on and one checkpoint was operated by the airport.

Ian Doubtfire the managing directing of Jet2 said the airline had stopped requiring cabin crew to do a headcount of passengers filing onto planes before take-off and that the headcounts would be immediately reinstated.  Perhaps checking the restroom before takeoff should be incorporated as well.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said: “This is an unusual and serious breach and we are keen to find out what has gone on.”

Although Liam Corcoran and his family are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame to the fullest as he tells the world how he, an 11 year old boy flies to Italy with no ticket or family, the security breach is very troubling even more so with London hosting the 2012 Olympics.

Related articles

• U.K.: Boy Eludes Airport Security, Flies to Rome
• Boy flies to Rome without checks

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