Boy who eluded Najaf airport security says he wanted to ‘take a ride above the clouds’

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The 10-year-old boy, who drew the attention of the media and the public on Wednesday, after passing through several security checks and boarding an Iran-bound plane at Najaf International Airport, told Rudaw on Friday that he just wanted to “take a ride above the clouds.”

Zaid Hussein left Iraq’s aviation authorities embarrassed after passing at least seven security checkpoints at the country’s second-largest airport, roaming the facility’s many sections for five hours, and finally boarding a plane headed towards Iran, without even having a ticket.

He was eventually caught, after another passenger noticed that the boy was sitting in their designated seat.

“I passed the passport checkpoint with a family, and no one asked me if I was their son or anything, so I entered. All I wanted was to take a ride on the clouds, and get on the plane,” Zaid told Rudaw’s Anmar Ghazi on Friday.

Zaid’s mother claimed that her son was struggling with mental health issues and cannot control his actions due to his hyper-enthusiasm, adding that he went through all the checkpoints without being caught.

“My son is sick. He’s overenthusiastic and is currently taking medication. I have proof and medical reports confirming that he is not responsible for his actions and behaviour. Secondly, my son loves to explore and he wants to go everywhere. Whenever he sees a plane flying, he wants to be on it. That was his goal,” said the mother who preferred not to be identified.

The situation has awakened the airport to the cracks in their security system, with the airport’s CEO stating that great changes will be made to the security, and many employees will be punished, as similar incidents should never recur.

“What happened was an infiltration of our airport’s security. I have begun fixing the system from the external gate until inside the plane. There will be changes, firing, punishment, and everything… this entire system needs to change, and this should never happen again,” said Hikmat Ahmed, CEO of Najaf International Airport.

Iraq's civil aviation authority said a private firm had since 2019 been in charge of security at Najaf airport, which receives hundreds of thousands of pilgrims a year, according to AFP.

"All legal procedures" would be taken against the company once the investigation has been completed, it said.