Aussie comedian fumes after airport staff check young sons for 'explosives'
The mum-of-two said she was in 'absolute shock' over the treatment of her boys.
Aussie comedian Nikki Osborne has detailed the terrifying moment her young sons were left "frozen in fear" after being taken from her and checked for "explosives" at a busy foreign airport.
The mum-of-two, 42, claims she was recently returning from France — where she'd been holidaying with her sons Will, 15, and Teddy, 10 — when the confronting encounter with Dubai airport staff left them "deeply distressed".
Recalling the ordeal for The Courier Mail on Sunday, Nikki explained airport officials waved her through but stopped the boys for inspection. "I handed security our three boarding passes and passports and instead of handing them all back to me, to my bewilderment, he identified and pointed to my two young boys, gave them their corresponding papers, then said to me, 'Lady, you go through the gate to board your plane. Boys, you come with me'," she explained.
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Mum in 'absolute shock' over treatment of sons
Confused and scared, one of her sons allegedly mouthed "stop them" to Nikki, who said she went straight into "mama bear mode". "They stay with me or I come with them" she reportedly told the airport staff.
The mum-of-two said despite being in "absolute shock", it was roughly 2.30am in a foreign country and she felt compelled to do what they said. The boys were led off to an exam room as Nikki furiously followed behind. "It feels like they're trying to steal your kids," she said.
The panicked mum said she waited as her children were subjected to checks without her present. She noted they were the only kids among a group of adults being checked. After the examination, the trio jumped on board their flight back to Australia, but the incident left the boys deeply upset.
"Who in their right mind thinks it's okay to separate young children from their mother?" Nikki raged, saying one of her sons, who has special needs, cried the entire 14-hour journey home. The comedian urged fellow holidaymakers who might be travelling through Dubai with kids to be aware, in the hope another family doesn't have the same jarring experience.
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