In a troubling incident that has sparked widespread outrage, a couple allegedly left their 10-year-old son behind at a Spanish airport after discovering his travel documents were not valid—then boarded their international flight without him.

According to reports, including a viral TikTok video shared by airport staff member Lilian, the child was left alone in the terminal after his parents realized his Spanish passport had expired and that he required a visa for their destination. Rather than miss their vacation, the couple reportedly told airport authorities that a relative had been called to collect the boy and proceeded to board the flight.

Lilian, an air operations coordinator and mother, described the situation as “completely surreal” and said the parents showed no visible distress. “They calmly left their son and got on the plane,” she said, adding that she would have “freaked out” had she been in their place.

Authorities were quickly alerted, and police removed the parents’ luggage from the aircraft before escorting them to the airport’s on-site police station for questioning. It remains unclear whether any formal charges have been filed or if the couple has been arrested.

The child was unharmed and placed in the care of airport personnel while the situation unfolded. He reportedly informed police that his parents were traveling to their home country for a vacation and had left him behind.

This incident has drawn comparisons to other high-profile airport abandonment cases, including a 2018 event in Germany where parents forgot their five-year-old daughter at a terminal and a more recent case in New Jersey involving a toddler who wandered onto a luggage conveyor belt.

While those incidents were accidental, authorities and observers have pointed out that this latest case appears to be a deliberate act. “In all my years working in aviation, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Lilian said.

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