Parents Accused Of Leaving 10-year-old Behind At Airport To Catch Flight

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• Parents allegedly abandoned their 10-year-old son at Barcelona Airport after he was denied boarding due to documentation issues.
• The parents boarded the flight with a younger child, leaving the 10-year-old unattended.
• Authorities were alerted, the flight was briefly stopped, and the parents were escorted off the plane.

Parents of a 10-year-old child are accused of leaving their son behind at the airport so they could catch a flight.

According to Spain’s national police, Guardia Civil, the incident took place a few days ago at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport. 

Guardia Civil's Catalonia office told USA TODAY the boy wasn’t able to board the flight because of issues with his documentation, so his parents decided to leave him unaccompanied while they boarded with their younger child. 

At first, airport staff alerted Catalonia police, Mossos d’Esquadra, because the incident happened in a public area of the airport, where they have jurisdiction. They, in turn, alerted Guardia Civil, which has jurisdiction over restricted parts of the airport.  

Guardia Civil temporarily stopped the flight, found the family members on the plane and escorted them to a Mossos d’Esquadra station, where the child had been taken in the meantime for safety.

Mossos d’Esquadra said the child was handed over to the parents, who were being reported for child abandonment.

This incident first caught global attention after an apparent airport worker recounted what happened on TikTok. 

(This story was updated with new information.)