(CMR) A couple abandoned their baby at an airport check-in desk in Tel Aviv, Israel, after they were told their child needed a ticket to get onto the flight.
The pair were checking in for a Ryanair flight from Ben Gurion International Airport to Brussels, Belgium, on Tuesday with the infant, CNN reported.
The couple reportedly headed off to board the flight, leaving their child behind at the airline check-in counter.
The Israeli Airport Authority told CNN that “A couple and an infant with Belgian passports arrived for a flight at Terminal 1 without a ticket for the baby. The couple also arrived late for the flight once the check-in for the flight was closed. The couple left the infant seat with the baby and ran toward the security checks at Terminal 1 in an attempt to reach the boarding gate for the flight.”
Airline staff told the local press that the couple had simply left their child in the baby stroller by the desk and walked on to passport control.
A Ryanair employee told a local news outlet: “We’ve never seen anything like this. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.”
According to Ryanair's website, “infants can be included in a flight reservation during the online booking process.” When making plans to travel with an infant, a pop-up message appears on the site stating that there is a $38 (€25) charge – or the local currency equivalent – for each one-way flight the baby takes while sitting on an adult's lap.
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