Boy with Tourette’s left in tears as he and his family are refused boarding onto British Airways flight after he shouted ‘bomb’ at the gate at Gatwick

A young man with Tourette’s burst into tears after British Airways refused to let his family board the plane after he shouted ‘bomb’ at the gate.

Mason Entwistle, 13, was due to fly from Gatwick Airport to Alicante on Saturday with a party of 10, including his father Martyn, mother Gemma and his two sisters.

BA had been notified days in advance that Mason, who was “incredibly nervous”, had been diagnosed with coprolalia about six months ago.

However, when the young man involuntarily shouted ‘bomb’ at the door, he and his family were kicked off the plane as they were considered a ‘security threat’.

Dramatic video footage shot by Mason’s father shows Mason desperately pleading with BA’s duty manager while the boy can be heard wailing in the background.

Martyn then asks the airline employee why Mason is being discriminated against because of his disability, but is told he ‘poses a threat to the welfare of other passengers’.

The ordeal left the teenager ‘completely distraught’ as his family walked towards Gatwick, escorted by three armed security guards, and were subsequently offered no compensation or an alternative route to Spain.

Martyn told the Daily Mail: ‘Mason was on the ground crying and desperately apologizing to people. In fact, he said to a member of our party: “What’s the point of my life if I’m not allowed to do anything?” Everyone was in flood of tears.

The boy’s father Martyn (pictured right) described the ordeal as ‘bizarre’ and said Mason was ‘completely devastated’

‘We knew very well before we arrived at the airport that he could tic, which could happen when he was nervous. My wife called BA and explained her Tourette’s disease, and we even brought proof of her diagnosis.

‘Everything was fine throughout security, even though he shouted ‘bomb’ three times as we walked by.

‘But then when we got to the door it was ticking a lot more. Then the duty manager took us to the bridge and said that the captain needed to talk to us.

‘Finally, after 40 minutes of waiting in the sweltering heat, three armed police officers came down and we were told we would not be flying.

‘No one offered any help or assistance to Mason when we were taken back to the airport. Having armed police behind you is scary for an adult, let alone an upset child. ‘It was clear that it had completely collapsed.’

After being directed to BA’s help desk at south London airport, the Entwistles were told they could not be transferred to an alternative flight because ‘Martyn refused to leave the bridge’.

‘This was absolute nonsense,’ he says. ‘There were armed officers there, like I would refuse to leave in that scenario.’

Instead the family were left with no choice but to spend £2,400 on separate flights to southern Spain via Vueling, one of BA’s sister airlines.

And Martyn said he was “blown away” by the quality of Vueling’s customer service on the family’s flight on Sunday, after describing BA as “totally weird”.

He added: ‘When we went to the BA helpdesk they had no idea what was going on. We have since emailed them and heard absolutely nothing.

‘We flew out the next day and I can’t praise Vueling enough. When we arrived at the airport, the guard came and introduced himself, shook Mason’s hand and chatted with all of us.

‘When we arrived at the gate, the captain welcomed us onto the flight, gave us all a big hug and we sat in the back seat of the plane with an empty row in front of us.

Martyn (pictured with wife Gemma) admits it’s been difficult to relax in Spain for fear of his family’s airport nightmare reigniting on return flights

‘He paid for all our food and drinks and took Mason up to the cockpit to take photos. ‘It’s truly surprising how different two companies can be.’

But Martyn admits it was difficult to relax in Spain for fear of his family’s airport nightmare reigniting on return flights.

The 39-year-old is determined to ensure no other family goes through something similar and is already in contact with various Tourette’s charities.

‘It’s not about the money we lost,’ he says. ‘We just wanted to show Mason that he can fly, he can go on holiday. It was so scary.

‘BA staff need training for such scenarios. ‘They were just following protocol, but we don’t want other families to experience this situation.’

A spokesman for British Airways said: ‘This has been an extremely difficult, complex and distressing situation.

‘Due to a number of factors it was decided that the group would not be allowed to travel on the flight.’

Tourette syndrome is a neurological condition that causes people to make sounds and move involuntarily.

Mason’s ordeal at Gatwick comes months after Tourette sufferer and activist John Davidson sparked controversy after making a racial slur at the BAFTAs.

Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time and the explosion was heard on BBC1’s initial broadcast of the show, before it was eventually removed.

Davidson, whose life inspired the film I Swear, later apologized for using the slur, saying: ‘When my coprolalic tics showed up, my stomach turned upside down. As always, I suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment and embarrassment hit me.

‘You want the ground to swallow you. I wanted to disappear. I wanted to hide; I wanted to get away from all eyes.’