A family has put British Airways on blast after their 13-year-old son was denied boarding on a recent flight from London Gatwick for a highly anticipated holiday to Spain, when the boy blurted out the word ‘Bomb’ in the gate area just before boarding.
The boy suffers from Tourettes Syndrone – a neurological condition that causes people to make involuntary movements and sounds, known as tics, which can vary in frequency and severity over time.
The Entwistles say they had contacted British Airways ahead of their trip to inform the airline of their son’s condition, and were left stunned when staff told them that Mason wouldn’t be allowed to board the plane because he had made a threat.
In a fiery exchange that Mason’s father, Martyn, recorded of a BA staffer explaining their decision, he accused the airline of breaching the Equality Act 2010, which is designed to protect disabled people from discrimination.
Under this legislation, British Airways is required to consider whether it can offer reasonable adjustments to a passenger to avoid discriminatory treatment based on the passenger’s disability.
An airline can, however, still refuse boarding if it genuinely believes that the passenger poses a safety or security risk.
Of course, in this kind of situation, it’s not just a case of verifying that Mason didn’t pose a threat, but the reaction that his comments might have on other passengers and the risk that this could pose a safety risk at 35,000 feet.
Nonetheless, Martyn told tabloid newspaper The Sun that he believes British Airways discriminated against his son.
Having informed British Airways of their son’s disability ahead of their flight, arrangements were made to help escort the family through the airport, with Mason shouting ‘Bomb’ at several points, including when they went through the security checkpoint.
The family was, however, allowed to continue their journey through the airport and even made it onto the jetbridge before a British Airways duty manager pulled the Entwistles from the line of passengers and delivered the news that Mason was being refused travel.
It appears that British Airways had been monitoring the situation for some time, as the British Airways duty manager was accompanied by law enforcement when she pulled the Entwistles aside.
The airline staffer insisted that Mason was only being refused transport on the grounds of safety and security and that she had already been in contact with a central accessibility team before the denied boarding decision was taken.
While Martyn’s 16-year-old daughter was allowed to take the flight with some family friends, the rest of the family had to stay at Gatwick Airport overnight and book a new flight with another airline.
Bizarrely, the Entwistles were able to travel with budget Spanish carrier Vueling the following day without any issues. Vueling is owned by the same parent company as British Airways.
A spokesperson for British Airways acknowledged that the situation had been “distressing” but that a “number of contributing factors” led to the eventual decision to deny Mason boarding.
