‘Not normal’: Couple abandons 10-year-old son in Barcelona airport; was getting late to catch flight

A couple allegedly abandoned their 10-year-old son at the Barcelona Airport after discovering his passport had expired, choosing to board their flight home without him to avoid missing it, reported The Sun.

A terminal worker who goes by the name of Lilian has posted a video on social media, criticizing the actions of the parents, garnering over 300,000 views. In her video, she claims that the parents reportedly arranged for a relative to pick their son up so that they could continue their journey.


However, their unusual plan unraveled when airport staff discovered the boy alone and alerted the police, according to the air traffic coordinator.

"He told them that his parents were on the plane on their way to their home country, going on vacation," Lilian said in her video, reported The Sun.

"His passport in the country was expired, so the child was travelling with a Spanish passport but the Spanish passport needed a visa. As they did not have a visa, they left the child at the terminal and called a relative to come and pick him up," she added.

Urgent contact was then made with the plane’s pilot, who then confirmed that the police had informed him about a minor in the car park. Eventually, the parents were located who were accompanied by another, younger child.

“I’m an air traffic controller, and as a controller, I’ve seen a lot of things, but this has been completely surreal,” Lilian added, reported the New York Post.

"How is it possible for parents to leave their ten-year-old son at the terminal because he cannot travel due to documentation issues? They call a relative but the relative may take half an hour, about an hour, about three hours and they take the flight so calmly and leave the child behind!" Lililian said.

"They saw it as very normal. Obviously I didn't see it as normal and the police didn't see it as normal either," she said.

Lilian reported that airport police eventually removed the parents’ luggage from the flight and escorted them to the on-site police station for questioning. It remains unclear whether the parents were formally arrested.