BA 'lost' Russian school boy on first unaccompanied flight

British Airways is investigating after claims airline staff let a 13-year-old Russian school boy wander off a plane on his own at Heathrow.

Nikolay Gorashenko, who attends a private school in Hertfordshire, was on his first unaccompanied flight from Moscow to London, for which his parents had paid £60 for a chaperone service.

But his British guardian Richard Cordery said he received a text from Nikolay saying: "I'm underground and I don't know where to go."

A second said: "I'm lost and I don't have my passport," reports the Daily Mail.

Nikolay had reportedly been allowed to wander off the plane at Heathrow despite being booked on the Skyflyer Solo chaperone service.

Mr Cordery, who had gone to Heathrow to meet Nikolay, raised the alarm with BA when he realised he was on his own, and said he'd been left "terrified" that the boy "could have been molested or abducted" at the airport.

British Airways did make an announcement during the flight saying all children flying alone should stay on board and wait to be met.

However, Nikolay followed a group of young travellers off the plane, before getting lost.

Mr Cordery told the Daily Mail: "When I realised he was on his own, I told him to find somebody in uniform to look after him.

"I then headed to to the office that deals with the accompanied flights - a tawdry, miserable affair - and told them "There's been a terrible mistake, little Nikolay has got off the plane and there's nobody with him."'

"Then a woman, who I was not talking to at the time, said "Teenage tearaways, what can you do about that?", which I thought was a disgraceful response.

"She asked how old he was and I said he was 13, to which she said "There you are - a teenage tearaway."'

Mr Cordery added that the airline was not aware Nikolay was missing until he told them.

A BA spokesman said the airline is investigating, and told the Daily Telegraph: "We treat matters of this nature extremely seriously, and we are currently investigating the claim."

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