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Boy, 10, reportedly left behind at airport so parents can make their flight

August 2, 2025 | | Print Article

Given the choice between missing their flight and abandoning their child, an airport employee shared the alleged details of a couple’s decision overseas.

“As a mother, I’d freak out.”

Travelers in the United States may still be getting used to the REAL ID requirements that officially went into effect in May, but a couple in Barcelona, Spain, were said to have encountered a far more serious identification issue when departing for vacation. According to an account shared on social media by an air traffic control employee, parents opted to entrust a relative to pick up their 10-year-old from the airport after an expired passport found him ineligible to travel.

“His passport in the country was expired, so the child was traveling with a Spanish passport but the Spanish passport needed a visa,” read a translation of the employee’s TikTok tale published by The Sun. “As they did not have a visa, they left the child at the terminal and called a relative to come and pick him up.”

@limasin41 Historias de aeropuerto surrealistas!! #aeropuerto #abandono #historytime #flightdispatcher #viralvideos #paratiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ♬ original sound – Limasin

As the woman, identified as Lilian, explained in the video that had amassed over 300,000 views, rather than risk losing their tickets, the parents had reached out to a family member and left the child at the airport as they boarded their flight Wednesday.

The boy was then discovered by airport staff at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, and it was explained, “He told them that his parents were on the plane on their way to their home country, going on vacation.”

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Efforts to locate the couple resulted in the pilot of their plane being contacted, at which time they and the younger child they were traveling with were reportedly taken to a police station.

“How is it possible for parents to leave their ten-year-old son at the terminal because he cannot travel due to documentation issues?” wondered Lilian in her video. “They call a relative but the relative may take half an hour, about an hour, about three hours and they take the flight so calmly and leave the child behind!”

“As a mother, I’d freak out,” she added.

The concern expressed came as dramatic footage revealed the moment a man had allegedly abducted a three-year-old girl at a mall on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

As had been reported, video released by the Fairfax County Police showed as suspect, 26-year-old Andres Caceres Jaldin, appeared to pick up the child at the Fair Oaks Shopping Center, only for her to be located later on the mall’s second level. Jaldin was later arrested and charged with abduction of a minor and grand larceny for the alleged theft of a car from an auto shop.

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Reactions to the decision by the parents in Spain were similar to Lilian’s as anger and incredulity were shared over anyone believing “that was an acceptable choice,” while some made light with references to “Home Alone 2.”

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Kevin Haggerty
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