Couple left baby at airport check-in after refusing to pay for ticket
A couple left their baby at an airport check-in after they refused to buy a ticket for their young child.
While the debate around babies on flights is usually centered around if they are crying or not, the people on this flight didn't get the chance to see if this one was a screamer as they never boarded the plane.
The couple in question attempted to board a Ryanair flight from Tel Aviv to Brussels, but they hadn't actually bought a ticket for their baby.
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In other forms of transport, young infants are often aloud to ride for free, but on airplanes, things are slightly different.
While it is up to the individual airline, an infant ticket on a plane is usually needed for a baby upwards of 14 days old up until the age of two.
So unless you plan on travelling in the short days after having the baby, you are going to have to pay.
But it seems as though this couple were willing to take their chances as they tried to board the plane without buying their baby a ticket.
The parents with Belgium passports refused to pay for a child ticket when asked, and appeared to have their baby in a stroller when they when they walked through passport control, according to the Jerusalem Post.
However, as they walked passport control, they seemingly left their child in the stroller and attempted to board the flight without them.
Airport staff noticed what the couple had done and contacted the police, who then found them and took them in for questioning.
According to the manager at the Ryanair desk, all witnesses who spotted the baby were left shocked that the parents had just ditched the newborn.
"We've never seen anything like this," the manager said.
"We couldn't believe what we were seeing."
According to the Israel Airports Authority, the couple arrived late to Terminal 1 in Tel Aviv after the check-in counter had closed.
They quickly wanted to go deal with security, so that they could board their flight, and simply left their baby on the conveyor belt at the area.
In a statement, Ryanair told LADbible: “These passengers travelling from Tel Aviv to Brussels (31 Jan) presented at check-in without a booking for their infant.
"They then proceeded to security leaving the infant behind at check-in.
"The check-in agent at Ben Gurion Airport contacted Airport Security, who retrieved these passengers, and this is now a matter for local police.”
Callum Jones