Irish airline Ryanair has expressed "regret" after a 12-year-old boy was left "petrified" after being forced to take a Covid test after boarding a flight.
Callum Hollingsworth, 12, was going on holidays to Spain with his family to enjoy a getaway to his "happy place" in Valencia.
When he was boarding his flight in the UK, the young boy, who is autistic and also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), was asked to take a coronavirus test.
He agreed, but it took a lot of preparation as according to Callum's mum Katy, as a previous experience in January had been a "nightmare".
When the family were returning from their trip to Spain earlier this month, they were once again asked to take another test, which led to Callum having a "meltdown" according to his mum.
"They said if you don't have a Covid test you can't go home, so we had no choice," Ms Hollingsworth told the BBC.
"He started hitting the chair and then started hitting himself."
Ms Hollingsworth explained how she had tried to tell Ryanair staff that her son was exempt and had showed them proof, the Mirror reports.
But Ryanair staff refused to recognise the exemption, which Ms Hollingsworth had applied for in January because of how much her son struggled with tests.
"The staff were just ignoring us. All they kept saying was 'it's not our problem'," she said.
Under UK government guidelines, people are exempt if they have a medical condition which means they cannot take a test.
Those who are exempt must present a note from a medical practitioner at check in and to Border Force Staff on arrival in England, the government's website adds.
Ryanair said in a statement to the Mirror it "regrets to hear of the stress" caused to the family.
A spokesperson said: "Ryanair fully complies with EU and government travel restrictions, which are constantly changing in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We continue to make improvements and implement procedures to ensure the health and safety of our passengers and our crew is prioritised while complying with each country's government guidelines at all times."
