Airline staff at an Israeli airport were shocked when a couple decided to leave their baby at a check-in desk, after a disagreement over having to buy a separate ticket for their child.
The incident happened at the Ryanair desk of Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday, the airline confirmed.
Local news outlet KAN reported that the couple were travelling on Belgian passports to Brussels, when they discovered they had to pay extra for a seat for their baby.
Ryanair said the couple had not paid for a ticket for the child in advance.
Airport staff told local press that they had simply left their child in the baby stroller by the desk and walked on to passport control.
One employee told local news source K12: “We’ve never seen anything like this. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.”
According to the Israel Airports Authority, the couple had arrived late for their flight to Brussels, and seemed anxious to get through airport security – with or without their infant.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “These passengers travelling from Tel Aviv to Brussels (31 January) presented at check-in without a booking for their infant. They then proceeded to security leaving the infant behind at check-in.
“The check-in agent at Ben Gurion Airport contacted Airport Security, who retrieved these passengers, and this is now a matter for local police.”
The Independent has approached Israel’s police authority for comment.
In October, a 62-year-old grandfather was arrested in Florida after it was discovered he had left a nearly two-year-old child in the back of locked rental car at Daytona Airport.
Meanwhile, in 2019, a Saudia Arabian flight had to turn back to its departure point after a mother left her baby at the airport.
The Kuala Lumpur-bound Saudia flight set off from Jeddah, but the pilot requested to turn back after a passenger told crew she had forgotten her baby in the boarding area of the terminal.
