Boy of 11 makes mockery of security by sneaking on jet without ticket or passport: He evades FIVE airport checks after slipping away from mother

By JAMES TOZER and LIZ HULL

Runaway: Liam Corcoran made it to Italy and back again after slipping away from his mother at Manchester airport

Frequent flyers will know only too well how rigorous airport security checks can be.
So it is all the more shocking that a runaway schoolboy managed to evade them entirely – and fly to Italy with no passport or boarding pass.
Liam Corcoran, 11, slipped away from his mother, caught a bus to the airport three miles away and boarded a plane bound for Rome without anyone questioning what he was doing.
It was only when he began boasting that he had run away from home as the plane cruised over France that other passengers alerted cabin crew.
As well as causing several hours of panic for Liam’s mother Mary, 29, the astonishing breach of security at Manchester Airport just before the start of the Olympics raised urgent questions about Britain’s border protection.

Yesterday Liam’s father, Aaron Fort, 34, spoke of his disbelief that no one at the airport had questioned what an unaccompanied child was doing there.
He revealed that Liam – described as ‘a handful’ who has run away in the past – had never been on a plane before and does not own a passport.
Mr Fort said: ‘Liam told me the first time he knew he was in a bit of trouble is when the plane started to rise off the ground. He just did what the stewardesses told him and sat in his seat with his belt on.’
Once other passengers raised the alarm, flight crew radioed details of the stowaway to colleagues on the ground.
On arrival at Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Liam was kept on board while the aircraft was prepared for the return journey. Finally, eight hours after taking off from Manchester, he was reunited with his relieved mother.
With airport security meant to be on heightened alert amid fears of a terrorist attack on the Olympics, Transport Secretary Justine Greening last night said: ‘I treat security breaches very, very seriously, so we are now reviewing urgently with Manchester Airport, and the airline, exactly what happened.’
Meanwhile, airline Jet2 said it had suspended three employees who had waved Liam through and was now carrying out headcounts on all flights.

Liam Corcoran, 11, was allowed to board a Jet2 flight to Rome without being asked for his passport or boarding pass

Mr Fort, who is separated from Liam’s mother and lives in Blackpool, said his son had to be rescued by a lifeguard.
‘That sort of incident would have worried him,’ the charity shop worker added. ‘He has some learning problems and copes differently from other children. He must have got changed and given his mother the slip.’
After his bus journey, Liam wandered into Terminal 1 at around 1pm and apparently ‘tailgated’ another family preparing to go through to security.
An airport source said: ‘Often one parent has the boarding card for all their children, so the security guard should count the cards and the children, but obviously they’ve failed to notice there was one extra.’

An full investigation is underway at Manchester Airport after the security lapse

He stressed that Liam went through scanners which would have picked up anything suspicious he was carrying.
Once through to the departures, he went to the first gate he could find. He is thought to have again mingled with families, and Jet2 staff failed to notice he had no documents as he took a seat.
A passenger on the return flight, Sarah Swayne, 26, from Nantwich, said: ‘He was very talkative and seemed quite unfazed by it all.’

Journey's end: Liam managed to get to Fiumicino airport in Rome

Liam’s mother was not at her top-floor housing association flat in Newall Green yesterday, but a neighbour said: ‘I think he’s going to be a bit of a hero among his friends for managing it.’
A relative added: ‘Liam’s an attention seeker, he runs away constantly. But he’s never done anything like this. The little monster went off to Rome.’
A spokesman for Manchester Airport said the breach was being ‘urgently investigated’, but added: ‘The boy went through full security screening so the safety of passengers was never compromised.’

A representative for Jet2 said no headcount had been carried out on Liam’s flight as passengers had boarded via an airbridge, but crew had now been ordered to perform one on all flights and three staff had been suspended. She added: ‘At no time was there a safety risk.’
In total, Liam escaped five checks: security staff should have checked his boarding pass before screening, Jet2 staff should have taken his boarding pass and checked his passport at the gate, flight crew in the cabin should have checked his boarding pass stub, and a passenger headcount should have been carried out before take-off.
Earlier this month police criticised security at Manchester Airport after an armed robbery suspect being flown back to the UK for questioning escaped through a luggage chute.

source: dailymail