Boy, 11, with no ticket or passport flies to Rome

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 they were investigating how Liam Corcoran got aboard the flight to Rome, after running away from his mother at a shopping centre almost three miles away, 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 to be fazed by the fuss he had caused.

“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.”

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.

In a statement, the airport described the incident as “extremely serious”.

Liam had travelled less than three miles from a nearby shopping centre, before evading five security checks to successfully board flight LS791 to the Italian capital.

The captain was only alerted to the extra passenger when holidaymakers raised concerns during the flight.

Liam’s 1,500 mile “adventure” ended on Tuesday night when he returned to Britain unharmed.

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: “The boy went through full security screening so the safety of passengers and the aircraft was never compromised. It was our responsibility — we absolutely have to answer for that.

“This was a young lad on an adventure.”

The Manchester Evening News said he had run away from his mother, Mary, 28, during a shopping trip at the city’s Wythenshawe Civic Centre and travelled to the airport on his own.