A COUPLE left their 10-year-old son at Barcelona Airport because his passport had expired, all to ensure they wouldn’t miss their flight, according to a terminal worker.
The pair took off from Barcelona’s El Prat international airport on a Wednesday, leaving their child behind but arranging for a relative to pick him up, showing they prioritized catching their flight over staying with their son.
Air traffic coordinator at the airport, Lilian, made a TikTok video about the alleged incident, slamming the young boy’s parents.
She claims the child was forbidden from flying as his passport had expired and he also required a visa.
His parents then decided, instead of missing the flight, to get a relative to pick their son up so they could continue their onward journey.
But the couple’s bizarre plan went awry after the airport staff found the young boy on his own and alerted cops, the air traffic coordinator claimed.
In a video that has garnered over 300,000 views, she stated: “The child said his parents were on a flight back to their home country, heading for a vacation.”
Urgent contact was made with the plane’s pilot who confirmed police had told him there was a minor in the car park.
He then asked passengers “if someone had left a child in the terminal and no one had answered.”
Finally, the parents were located, who were accompanied by another younger child.
“His passport in the country was 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,” said Lilian.
In addition, they said “they were not going to lose the tickets.”
Cops took the parents and the other child to the police station where their son was.
“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 adds.
After this, the worker had to manage the removal of luggage, which specifically consisted of six suitcases.
She added: “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 contacted a relative, but there’s uncertainty about whether the relative would arrive in half an hour, an hour, or even three hours, yet they took the flight without a second thought, leaving their child behind!”
It is not known if the family, of unknown nationality, were charged or given any sort of caution by the police.
The claims made by the air traffic coordinator currently remain unconfirmed.
This incident follows another where a mother reportedly left her newborn in an airport restroom before attempting to board a flight, a Turkish court was told.
