An employee at a Spanish airport terminal disclosed a startling incident that would infuriate many. After discovering that their 10-year-old son’s passport had expired, a couple reportedly left him at Barcelona’s El Prat International Airport on Wednesday. Through a TikTok video, an airport traffic coordinator exposed the startling episode and denounced the child’s parents.
She claims that after learning that their son’s passport had expired and that he would not be able to travel with them, the couple made arrangements for a family member to pick him up from the airport so they wouldn’t miss their flight. The 10-year-old additionally need a visa. According to the airport employee, when the staff discovered the youngster on his own and called the authorities, the couple’s holiday plan ultimately fell through.
According to the Daily Mail, the traffic controller said in the TikTok video, which has received over 300,000 views so far, that he informed them that his parents were traveling to their homeland for a vacation.
The two were found and brought to the airport police station, however it is unknown if they were detained. The assertions made by the airport traffic controller have not yet been confirmed. “As an air traffic controller, I’ve seen a lot of things, but this has been completely surreal,” she stated in her video.
El Prat Airport: In order to avoid losing their flight, several parents choose to drop off their 10-year-old child in the terminal. This is Lilian, a completely surrealist coordinator. Follow them on TikTok at @limasin41.pic.twitter.com/AdxnHhvZwZ.
(@CLH2023) July 31, 2025 Christian
The idea of parents abandoning their ten-year-old son at the terminal because he is unable to go because of documentation problems astounds me. They quietly board the plane and leave the child behind after calling a relative, who may take thirty minutes, an hour, or three hours.
“As a mother, I’m amazed,” she underlined. However, this is not the first time that an airport has experienced this kind of situation. In 2023, a couple who were traveling to Brussels also tried to leave their infant at the check-in counter in Ben-Gurion, Israel.
Despite having Belgian passports, the couple did not have a boarding permission for their infant child. They just left their infant at the check-in desk and went to the security terminal after being instructed to buy a different ticket. The two were immediately detained by airport employees upon learning about the incident, and they were not permitted to pass through the security gates.
After that, the parents had to go back to their baby, who was in the pushchair on a conveyor belt at the check-in station, hidden under a blanket. In the end, the couple was detained at the airport and brought in for interrogation.
