A British schoolboy who suddenly developed an acute fear of flying is stranded in Abu Dhabi. Joe Thompson, 11, has tried to take four flights in the past four months but every time he approaches the check-in he becomes too distressed to board the plane.
Joe’s phobia has baffled doctors and psychiatrists as he has flown long-haul all his life. His condition is now so bad that his father, Tony Thompson, a former aide to John Prescott, is going to bring his son home via road, sea and rail while avoiding trouble spots such as Syria and Libya.
Thompson, 63, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘There was no event that prompted it. It just happened out of the blue. And the fear is quite acute. He’s fine until he gets to check-in and then he falls apart. “He gets stomach pains; he collapses and sits on the floor sobbing. It’s awful. He never talks about the plane crashing. He says it’s the height.”
Thompson said: ‘We’ve tried four times now to get Joe on a plane but he just can’t do it.
