Airline ticket sold to 14 yr old at 3am

[runawayteen14]

This is all so incredibly outing but I am curious to know what others think so I will keep it a little vague but I can't imagine too many kids did this (or maybe they did!).

When I was 14 I lived with my mum and step dad near Heathrow. I HATED it, but that is all another story. Most of my family are from another European country. After a big fight I waited for them to go to sleep. Packed up a school bag of clothes. All the money I had access to and climbed out my window.

I walked to Heathrow, a few miles along a dual carriage way, under the tunnel and into the airport. So dangerous it makes me cringe, I had a man stop and offer me a lift.

I then went to the desk and asked for a 1 way ticket on the next flight. This was approx 3am. I was told the price, counted out my money, including a huge pile of change. I also had to leave the desk and go change some Euro's.

They sold me a ticket and I flew home. I had just turned 14 a week before, now that I am older I really don't think they should have sold me a ticket. This was 2006 by the way.

YABU - they should have sold the ticket
YANBU - they should not have sold the ticket

I get that the person at the desk may not have known what to do, but I wasn't questioned at all.

I don’t believe you. I don’t know one airline ticket desk that is open at 0300 in the morning for a start.

Sorry for not responding directly.

I'm not angry 16 years later, I just thought about it for the 1st time in a long time yesterday and anytime I've ever told the story people are pretty shocked!

I said it was approx 3am, it may have been 4am I know the flight was at about 6am.

I know a lot of people have said they/ kids they know flew alone. I think where this should have raised a flag was I was a distressed young teen in the middle of the night paying with change.

I wanted my mother to take me away from where we lived but she never did. I got out eventually myself. Misfortunately by that point I thought no one gave a fiddlers about me and that I was pretty worthless. I spent a lot of years thinking men treating me awfully was normal, to be expected and just what happened. Other family members have said years later that they should have intervened that what I did was clearly a call for help but that they didn't really know what they could do.

I don't feel like that anymore, after quite a lot of counselling.