Brit and his wife are banned from boarding BA Shanghai flight to UK because their baby boy had insect bites

Daily Mail​

13-05-2025

A family say they were banned from boarding their British Airways flight because airline staff were suspicious of insect bites on their baby son's leg.
Expat Jonathan Arthur, 34, and his wife Xun Sun, 35, were flying from Shanghai Pudong Airport to London Heathrow for a family wedding when they were stopped by airline staff.
They had noticed some insect bites on one-year-old son Joseph as they went to the gate to board, and asked British Airways staff at the desk where they could buy some allergy medication, just in case.
They claim the check-in desk assistant called a medical advice hotline who said they couldn't board - over fears the rash around the bites was actually a reaction to Joseph's mild peanut allergy which could worsen during the flight.
Staff said the tot needed a 'fit to fly' letter from a doctor, and were escorted out away from the boarding gate, and were left 'feeling like criminals'.
'We were treated like we had done something wrong,' said Jonathan.
'It was nothing more than swollen bites.
'The medical staff at the airport said to apply some ointment and wait 10 minutes - which we were happy to do.
'But the BA staff said we needed to call their medical advice line,' he added.
The family waited the whole day in the airport after they re-booked flights with another airline - which didn't require a letter - for that evening.
The bites disappeared within 10-15 minutes of applying a bite cream and didn't cause their baby any more discomfort, the couple said.
The couple had paid £3,000 for their original flights.
'I find it strange that someone else in a different country can speak to an airport staff member who isn't a medical professional, and diagnose and refuse boarding, without seeing the rash,' Jonathan said.
'When you pay for a service you expect to be treated like a customer, not like a hindrance.
'It felt like they thought 'they're not flying, just get rid of them.'
A spokesperson for BA told MailOnline: 'We take the safety and well-being of our customers very seriously and do everything we can to support them when issues like this arise.
'This includes accessing specialist medical advice to assess an individual's suitability to travel, which is what happened in this case.
'Whilst we appreciate our customer was disappointed with this decision, we never compromise passenger safety.'
It comes after a couple missed their ski holiday after BA staff member misinterpreted a post-Brexit passport rule and wrongly refused to let them board their flight.
The '10-year passport rule' means that to travel to EU countries your UK passport must be less than 10 years old on your departure day and have at least three months left before it expires on the day you return home.
Richard and Kate Sugden were due to fly from Jersey to Austria via Heathrow Airport in January but were told they wouldn't be be allowed to board their flight in London due to Mrs Sugden's passport.
Her passport was issued in February 2015 meaning that when they wanted to travel in January 2025, it was less than 10 years old, in accordance with the rules.
Before travelling, they had even checked their passports on a third party website which confirmed they were valid for the trip.
Mr Sugden told the BBC he and his wife were 'feeling very confused' and 'had that pit in your stomach of "oh my gosh, we've got it badly wrong"'.
Check-in staff were 'sympathetic' but 'very adamant' Mrs Sugden's passport would not be accepted at Heathrow.
'Somebody came down, I'm guessing a duty supervisor, and he confirmed what they were saying,' he added.