Travoltas stage airport decoy

John Travolta and his wife are preparing to return to the US from the Bahamas with their teenage son’s ashes today, following an elaborate airport decoy involving a hearse.

Yesterday, a black hearse travelled from the undertakers to the airport after the Travoltas indicated they were bringing their son Jett’s remains to Ocala, Florida, where they own a home.

Two white jets waited as police in dress uniforms blocked access to the tarmac.

But the hearse was dispatched as a ruse, funeral home director Keith McSweeney told a news conference later, adding that Jett’s remains were actually being cremated.

He said the family was planning to leave the Bahamas with the ashes today. He said he could not explain the reason for the decoy.

Authorities performed a post-mortem examination yesterday but did not release the results.

Travolta, 54, tried CPR to revive Jett, who may have died in his arms before paramedics took over, Usmagazine.com reported, citing family lawyers.

Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston, 46, have said that Jett became very sick when he was two years old and was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome, an illness which leads to inflamed blood vessels in young children.

Preston has blamed household cleaners and fertilisers and said a detoxification programme based on teachings from the Church of Scientology helped improve his health, according to People magazine.

“We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives,” Travolta and Preston said on Sunday in their first public statement since Jett’s death.

The couple also have an eight-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu.