A COUPLE abandoned their 10-year-old son at Barcelona Airport after his passport had expired so they wouldn’t miss the flight, a worker at the terminal said.
The couple jetted off from Barcelona’s El Prat international airport on Wednesday without their child, organising a relative to pick him up just so they wouldn’t miss their flight.
AlamyThe alleged incident unfolded at Barcelona-El Prat Airport in Barcelona, Spain[/caption]
An air traffic coordinator at the airport made a TikTok video about the alleged incidentTiktok
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.
She said in her video that has accumulated over 300,000 views: “He told them that his parents were on the plane on their way to their home country, going on 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 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!”
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.
It comes after a mum allegedly abandoned her newborn baby to die in an airport toilet before attempting to board a flight home, a Turkish court heard.
GettyThe family were flying from Barcelona[/caption]