Eight-year-old boy told he cannot fly to South Africa to see sick grandparents

The family had booked the trip two years in advance, yet were still told they could not board the flight

A boy waits for his family members arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Getty)

An eight-year-old boy has been told he cannot fly to South Africa to see his sick grandparents because he was not travelling with his birth certificate or both his parents.

Riley Fernandez was travelling with his mother Rachelle Stassen and step-father Martin when he was told he was not allowed to fly due to Riley not being with both of his biological parents.

The trip was booked by Ms Stassen two years ago, with the family planning to fly from Manchester airport so they could see their grandparents in their native South Africa.

After being refused boarding, the family asked Riley’s father, Jason Fernandez, to come to the airport to give his permission to allow Riley to travel.

They even contacted the South African government, receiving permission to fly, but were told they were still not allowed to board the flight.

New regulations introduced this year require all children flying to South Africa to carry their birth certificate.

The new laws were put in place as a way to deter human trafficking, amid claims 30,000 children are trafficked into South Africa every year.

"I've never been so devastated in my life. The children are completely beside themselves," Ms Stassen said.

"We have waited so long for this holiday. The kids don't understand fully. They just keep saying that the man behind the counter was a naughty man.

"The most traumatic thing was that Riley turned around and said 'you can all go without me'. It just doesn't make sense to me. We booked this holiday two years ago and at no point were we told about bringing any letters," she told the Telegraph.