Letting an 11-year-old boy fly alone to Rome without a ticket or passport won’t get you fired

Three airline staff who were suspended after an 11-year-old boy flew to Italy on his own, without a passport or boarding card, have kept their jobs.

Liam Corcoran evaded five separate security checks at Manchester Airport in July, before boarding the Jet2.com flight to Rome.

He was only noticed en route to the Italian capital, after fellow passengers became suspicious, and was subsequently brought back to Britain on the return flight.

The schoolboy followed another family through security, before walking through the departure gate and on to the aircraft without being asked to present any documentation.

Although not legally required to do so, cabin crew will often carry out a final head count on board the aircraft, but Jet2.com staff did not on this occasion.

The incident prompted the airline to suspend the staff, and launch an inquiry, but it has now confirmed that the three have returned to work.

“Following a full and thorough investigation, revised procedures have been implemented,” a spokesman told the Manchester Evening News. “Head counts are now in place across each of our flights from all airports, and additional staff training has been carried out across the business.

“We continue to liaise closely with Manchester Airport regarding security processes.”

Meanwhile, a Manchester Airport security worker has been suspended after failing to spot a fake bomb as it passed through an x-ray machine. The dummy run was carried out by the Department for Transport, which makes regular checks at UK airports to test the effectiveness of airport security.

“We have a regular programme of inspections to ensure compliance with this regime, but do not comment on the specifics or outcomes for obvious reasons,” said a spokesman.