The family of a 10-year-old boy were asked to prove he had a disability before they were allowed to board a Jet2 flight home.

Jack Johnson, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was left humiliated and distressed by the experience, which was reportedly due to an administrative error.

His mother, Alex Johnson, from Wigan in Greater Manchester, said she was appalled by the way her son was treated at Split airport in Croatia on Tuesday.

Staff at the airport did not have a record of her son’s disability and required two days’ notice for a motorised scooter to be loaded on to the aircraft. Johnson said she had to spend a long time explaining her son’s condition and giving details of his disability scooter before they prepared to fly home from their summer holiday.

Johnson was then asked in front of her son: “Do you have proof your son is disabled?”

She presented Jack’s blue badge to Jet2 personnel and, after a two-hour wait, the family were finally allowed to board the aircraft.

Johnson said that Jack had a “complete meltdown” the next day as a result of the experience.

She and her husband, former Wigan Warriors player Andy Johnson, set up a charity called Joining Jack, which funds research into a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The airline has since apologised for what it called an “isolated incident”.

In a blogpost, Alex Johnson said: “I didn’t want us to run into any problems as Jack hates people staring and attention being drawn to him. It’s hard for him being a kid that is different. When we arrived at Split airport and attempted to check in, we were told by a clearly stressed check-in desk operative that they had no records of Jack, his disability or his requirements.

“The operative then informed us that two days’ notice is required to be able to put a motorised wheelchair/scooter on the aircraft and that we might not be able to fly. By this time the packed departures area was getting busier and people were getting frustrated with waiting. We felt as though we were a huge burden.”

It was then Johnson was asked if she had proof her son was disabled.

She said: “I didn’t know whether to be sarcastic and say, ‘No, he loves to ride a disability scooter and pretends to be disabled for fun,’ or to cry and shout, ‘He has a bloody terminal muscle-wasting condition.’ The only reason I kept my cool was that I could see the embarrassment and anxiety rising in Jack. The indignity of the situation was awful.”

Johnson said she had to explain the full extent of Jack’s condition in front of him, before showing the operative his blue badge, adding her son “wanted the ground to eat him up”.

The family eventually found out Jet2 had not sent through the details.

A spokesperson for Jet2 said: “We are extremely sorry to hear of this experience, and we appreciate that it has been very distressing for Jack and his family. We have been in contact to unreservedly apologise for the upset caused, and we would like to reassure Jack, his family, and all our customers, that this is not our normal standard of service.”