New Delhi: A couple reportedly left their 10-year-old son behind at Barcelona Airport after discovering his passport had expired, choosing instead to board their flight and avoid missing it, according to media reports.
According to the report in The Sun, Lilian, an airport worker who shared details of the incident on social media, criticized the parents’ actions in a video that has since garnered over 300,000 views. She explained that the couple had allegedly arranged for a relative to pick up their son at the airport so they could continue their journey.
However, the plan quickly fell apart when airport staff noticed the child was alone and alerted police, according to the air traffic coordinator.
“He told them that his parents were on the plane on their way to their home country, going on vacation,” Lilian stated in her video, as reported by The Sun.
She added, “His passport in the country had expired, so the child was travelling with a Spanish passport, but the Spanish passport needed a visa. As they did not have a visa, they left the child at the terminal and called a relative to come and pick him up.”
Authorities made immediate contact with the flight’s pilot, who confirmed police had informed him of an unattended minor in the car park. Eventually, the parents were identified and found to be traveling with another, younger child.
“I’m an air traffic controller, and as a controller, I’ve seen a lot of things, but this has been completely surreal,” Lilian said, as quoted by The New York Post.
She further expressed disbelief, saying, “How is it possible for parents to leave their ten-year-old son at the terminal because he cannot travel due to documentation issues? They call a relative, but the relative may take half an hour, about an hour, about three hours, and they take the flight so calmly and leave the child behind!”
“They saw it as very normal. Obviously, I didn’t see it as normal, and the police didn’t see it as normal either,” she added.
Police eventually removed the couple’s luggage from the flight and escorted them to the on-site police station for questioning. It is not yet clear whether the parents were formally arrested.