Parents fury as boy, 10, with muscular dystrophy is 'humiliated' by Jet2 staff who made him 'prove' his disability and wait hours before he could take his mobility scooter on plane

A 10-year-old boy was left in tears after airport staff questioned if he was really disabled - despite suffering from a terminal muscle-wasting disease.

Jack Johnson, from Wigan, was diagnosed with the incurable Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy in 2012 and his parents were told the condition will probably claim his life by 30 years of age.

Flying home from Split, Croatia on Tuesday to Leeds after a family holiday, a mix-up with Jack's wheelchair led Jet2 staff to question whether he was really disabled.

The distraught boy was finally allowed to board the plane but only after a "shambolic" and "humiliating" experience where they were asked to provide evidence of his disability.

Jet2 has since apologised for the incident.

Jack's mum Alex took to social media to slam the airline for "ruining" the holiday.

She wrote: "I can honestly say we have never experienced anything as shambolic and as humiliating for our son as our flight home from Split with Jet 2.

"The indignity of the situation was awful. Jack was crying and saying 'I just want to go home to my grandma’s'.

"As a family we need and love our holidays because of the underlying heartbreak we live with every day as we watch our son’s muscles waste away.

"Eventually it will be impossible for us to take Jack on holiday and make the precious memories we cherish with him."

Jack is the son of former Wigan Warriors player Andy Johnson.

Alex said she told the airline about Jack's disability and his need for wheelchair assistance when the family booked the flights.

She says she followed this up to "double check" the airline had all the information they needed.

Despite this on arriving at Split airport they were told the airline had "no record" of Jack's needs, according to Alex, and they usually need two days notice to put a wheelchair on the plane.

Alex was then asked for "proof" Jack suffers from a disability.

“The only reason I kept my cool was that I could see the embarrassment and anxiety rising in Jack" Alex said.

She described having to detail Jack's condition in front of him as "painful".

She added: "I didn’t know whether to be sarcastic and say no he loves to ride a disability scooter and pretends to be disabled for fun, or to cry and shout he has a bloody terminal muscle-wasting condition.

"As a mother my job is to protect and nurture my child. Yesterday I had to stand by and watch as he was completely humiliated."

A Jet2 spokesman said: “We are extremely sorry to hear of this experience, and we appreciate that it has been very distressing for Jack and his family.

"We have been in contact to unreservedly apologise for the upset caused, and we would like to reassure Jack, his family, and all our customers, that this is not our normal standard of service.

"Although this is an isolated incident, we have learnt a number of lessons and we are urgently reviewing all our procedures to ensure that this does not happen again.”