In Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion airport, a couple with Belgian passports showed up at check-in with tickets for a Ryanair flight to Brussels…but with…
A child over 2 years old
The two passengers did not, however, have a ticket for their child. The staff then explained to the couple that they could not board without buying a ticket for their toddler. Normally, children under 2 years old do not pay, but the child in question is 2 years and 14 days old.
They choose to give up the baby
Our Belgian friends apparently didn’t hear it that way: they abandoned their child and her stroller near a counter and headed for the boarding gate. A video circulating on social media shows the moment frightened employees discover the baby hidden under a blanket. Alerted, airport security located the couple and forced them to pick up their child. The two travelers were arrested and questioned by the police.
Airport staff were dumbfounded
“We had never seen anything like it. We couldn’t believe our eyes,” reacted the Ryanair counter manager in the “Times of Israel”. According to a statement released by the Israel Airports Authority, the couple arrived late and abandoned their child at check-in in hopes of getting through security in time. “A ground services team leader brought the couple back to the counters (…) and called the police and a security guard,” the statement said.
