Belgian couple abandon their baby at Israel airport after they were unable to purchase another ticket for infant

File Photo: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency (ANA)

File Photo: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Feb 4, 2023

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Pretoria – A Belgian couple was forced to abandon their baby at an airport check-in desk in Tel Aviv, Israel, after arriving without a ticket for the child.

According to CNN, the pair were checking in for a Ryanair flight from Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel, to Brussels, Belgium, with their baby when it emerged that the infant did not have a ticket.

After realising they had to buy a separate ticket for the baby, they simply left the child in a pram at the check-in desk and proceeded to head for the security terminal.

In its website, Ryanair’s policy states that passengers travelling with an infant can either pay around £25 (a little over R520) for a lap seat or pay the same price as an adult for a separate seat for the child.

A spokesperson for Ryanair told CNN that the matter was now with police.

“The check-in agent at Ben Gurion Airport contacted airport security, who retrieved these passengers, and this is now a matter for local police,’’ Rynair was quoted as saying.

In a video posted by the Daily Mail, it showed staff at the airport caught off guard by the lone pram.

One of the workers pulled back a blanket to reveal the abandoned child underneath.

According to the UK publication, staff at the security check-in refused to allow the pair through and forced them to return to collect the infant before calling the police who descended on Terminal 1 and promptly arrested them.

IOL