Couple Allegedly Leaves 10-Year-Old Child Behind at Airport to Make Their Flight

Yahoo

3 days ago

According to police, the child wasn't allowed to board the plane due to issues with his documentation errorsNEED TO KNOW
A couple leaving Barcelona allegedly left their 10-year-old child behind in the airport, per USA Today
The boy was not allowed to board the flight due to documentation errors
The public first heard of the incident through an airport employee's TikTok recounting the eventA couple allegedly left their 10-year-old child behind at an airport in order to make their flight.Guardia Civil, Spain's national police, confirmed to USA Today the incident happened a few days ago at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport. Per the office, the boy wasn't able to board the flight with his parents because of documentation errors. So, in an effort to not miss the flight, the parents boarded anyway.
Mossos d'Esquadra, the local police, were first alerted to the incident who then alerted Guardia Civil.
The police temporarily halted the flight in order to locate the family members. Once authorities found the parents, they were escorted off the plane and taken to the police station where the child was held for safety.
Mossos d'Esquadra told the outlet the parents were reported for child abandonment.
Neither Guardia Civil nor Mossos d'Esquadra immediately responded to to PEOPLE's request for comment.
The public first heard of the incident through a July 27 TikTok posted by an airport employee named Lilian.
https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf
'I am an air coordinator,' the TikTok user, who goes by @limasin41, says in the clip translated from Spanish to English by the platform. 'As coordinator, I have seen a lot of things, but this has already been totally surreal.'
Lilian went on to explain that the start of flight operations went completely normal. But when she went to drop off some paperwork, she learned the plane went back and parked. Lilian made her way to the aircraft and met the police. Authorities explained they learned from the boy that his parents were flying back to their country of origin after their vacation.
Lilian then contacted the pilot who explained the situation to the passengers on board. But nobody fessed up. Then, Guardia Civil personnel boarded the plane and escorted the parents.
According to Lilian, the explanation given to police was that the boy's passport from his country of origin had expired. Instead, he was traveling with a Spanish passport, but it was missing the required visa. So, the parents called a relative to pick up the boy while the parents boarded the aircraft.
'For them, they saw it very normal obviously,' Lilian said. 'I didn't see it normal and the police didn't see it normal either.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After the parents were escorted off the flight and to the station, the rest of the flight proceedings continued as normal, according to Lilian.
Lilian, who is a mother herself, said she couldn't imagine leaving her daughter alone when she was that age.
'I mean, I freak out as a mother,' she said. 'I remember when my little girl was little. I was losing it for a second.'
Read the original article on People