For seven-year-old Javaid Iqbal, the holiday to Florida was a dream trip to reward him for doing well at school.
But he was left in tears after he was stopped repeatedly at airports on suspicion of being a terrorist.
The security alerts were triggered because Javaid shares his name with a Pakistani man deported from the US, prompting staff at three airports to question his family about his identity.
The family even missed their flight home from the U.S. after officials cancelled their tickets in the confusion. And Javaid's passport now contains a sticker saying he has undergone highlevel security checks.
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Javaid said: "All this was about my name. They said that it had a block on it. We felt scared and didn't know what was going on."
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Javaid's parents, who moved to Blackburn from Saudi Arabia in 2002, are now considering changing their son's name.
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"They really should have known he was only a seven-yearold child. I do understand the reasons but this was over the top. I can understand the safety aspect but it doesn't help relationships with different faiths."
International airports will not discuss security policies and anti-terrorism measures and all those involved refused to comment on this case.
Guilty until proven innocent... Even kids.
