A worker at the terminal of a Spanish airport revealed a shocking incident that would make a lot of people angry. A couple who were at Barcelona’s El Prat International airport on Wednesday supposedly left their 10-year-old son after figuring out that his passport had expired. A traffic coordinator at the airport revealed the shocking incident through a TikTok video, condemning the kid’s parents.
According to her, the pair arranged for a relative to pick up their son from the airport, so they wouldn’t miss their flight after realising that his passport had expired and he wouldn’t be able to fly with them. In addition, the 10-year-old also needed a visa. The airport worker claimed that ultimately, the couple’s vacation plan didn’t work out when the staff found the minor on his own and alerted the police.
“He told them that his parents were on the plane on their way to their home country, going on vacation,” the traffic controller said in the TikTok video, which has already garnered over 300,000 views so far, as reported by Daily Mail.
It is unclear whether the pair was arrested, although they were located and taken to the airport’s police station. The airport traffic controller’s claims are yet to be verified. In her video, she said, “I’m an air traffic controller, and as a controller, I’ve seen a lot of things, but this has been completely surreal.”
Aeropuerto de El Prat: unos padres decidieron ‘abandonar’ a su hijo de 10 años en la terminal para no perder el vuelo de sus vacaciones. Lo cuenta Lilian, coordinadora aérea. “totalmente surrealista”. Según contó en su cuenta de TikTok, @limasin41. pic.twitter.com/AdxnHhvZwZ
— Christian /♥️ (@CLH2023) July 31, 2025
“I’m amazed to think how parents could possibly leave their ten-year-old son at the terminal because he can’t travel due to documentation issues. They call a relative, who might take half an hour, an hour, or three hours, and they calmly board the flight and leave the child behind.”
She emphasized, “As a mother, I’m amazed.” However, this is not the first time such an incident has taken place at an airport. Back in 2023, a couple, who had their flight to Brussels, also attempted to abandon their baby at the check-in desk in Israel’s Ben-Gurion.
The couple, who had Belgian passports, did not have a boarding pass for their baby. When they were told to purchase a separate ticket, they simply left their baby at the check-in desk and headed towards the security terminal. When the incident came to the airport staff’s notice, they quickly stopped the pair, refusing to allow them through the security checkpoints.
The couple was then forced to return to their infant, who was hidden under a blanket on the pushchair, kept on a conveyor belt at the check-in desk. The couple was ultimately arrested at the airport and taken in for questioning.
