Belgian Parents leave baby at Israeli airport check-in after refusing to buy ticket for child after told infant needed ticket to board Ryanair Flight. Were traveling from Tel Aviv to Brussels.
In an incident that has stunned airport officials, a couple with Belgian passports are alleged to have left their baby at an Israeli check-in as they hurried to make a Ryanair flight after told their ticketless baby was also required to have a ticket in order to board the flight.
The un-named couple were detained by police after leaving their baby at the check-in at the Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The couple attempted to board a Ryanair flight from Tel Aviv to Brussels, but didn’t have a ticket for their baby according to airport officials.
They refused to pay for one and seemingly left their baby in the stroller as they walked to passport control.
Airport staff noticed what had happened and contacted the police, who found the parents and took them in for questioning.
Two parents were detained by police after they reportedly left their baby behind at the check-in at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport while attempting to fly abroad.#Israeli | #Baby | #Airports https://t.co/oLkc1Gw5zo
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) January 31, 2023
Possible explanations
The manager of the Ryanair desk said everyone was in shock and told the Jerusalem Post: ‘We’ve never seen anything like this. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.’
According to the Israel Airports Authority, the couple arrived late to Terminal 1 after the check-in counter was closed.
They wanted to go through to deal with security and simply left their baby on the conveyor belt at the area.
The adults reluctance to buy the child a ticket according to some on social media alluded to the baby potentially being part of a human trafficking ploy, with the child’s real identity not validated and the alleged parents panicking and discarding the baby upon realizing proper identification (in order to buy a ticket) would be required.
Another commentator posited that the parents had bungled the check in process and had sought to negotiate with security staff directly at the boarding gate to let their baby on the plane… with the parents purportedly leaving the baby at the check-in counter and then going through security to access their gate. Presumably the parents imagined that the person at the check-in counter would babysit in the meantime… as they pleaded their case.
