'We’ve never seen anything like this': Couple abandoned baby at airport check-in as they rushed to make flight
1 February 2023, 13:38
A couple who abandoned their baby at a check-in desk at an airport in Israel have been detained by police.
The pair arrived at Tel Aviv airport on Tuesday to get a flight to Brussels, but they didn’t have a boarding pass for the infant.
They needed to buy an extra ticket, but instead they left the child in its pushchair at check-in and ran for passport control.
Shocking footage posted online shows the moment airport staff pulled back a blanket and found the baby was still in the pram.
The manager of the Ryanair check-in desk told the Jerusalem Post: “We've never seen anything like this. We couldn't believe what we were seeing.”
#INCREDIBLE - 2 Belgian parents were detained by border police after they forgot their baby at the check in counter at Ben Gurion Airport today, for a flight from Tel Aviv to Charleroi, Belgium
Posted by Yafi on Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Israel’s Airport Authority said in a statement: “A couple with Belgian passports arrived for a Ryanair flight at Terminal 1 without a ticket for the baby.
“The couple also arrived late for the flight after the flight's check-in counters had closed.
“They left the baby and went to the security check-in at Terminal 1 to get to the departure gate.
“A ground services shift manager took the couple back to the flight counters to take the baby and called the police and a security guard.”
