A few days ago two parents left their 10 year old behind at the Barcelona airport because they discovered at check-in that his passport had expired and lacked a visa for travel. They boarded their flight without him, figuring that a relative could pick him up later instead of delaying their trip. Their tickets weren’t changeable.

Airport staff found the boy alone and contacted security. A woman who works in airport operations posted video recounting what happened. Authorities removed the parents’ luggage from the flight and brought the mother and father to the station where there son was being watched.

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

We’ve seen children left behind as parents took off on plane trips before. Most notably Kevin McCallister was twice left behind as his family took off – first awakening to an empty home after his family already departed for the airport, and then again when his faily flew to Florida while he mistakenly got on the wrong plane headed for New York City. There, he wound up a hero, stopping two bandits from robbing a toy story just before Christmas.

Authorities have not confirmed the family’s nationality and destination, or whether charges were filed.

When I was 10 I think I would have been able to sit in the airport and wait to get picked up. By the time I was 7 I’d go outside to play and be out pretty much all day. I’d go over to a friend’s house. And I just had to be back by sundown (or call, hoping to be able to stay over). But that was a many decades ago (long before cell phones were commonplace!) and those sorts of things just aren’t done anymore.

(HT: Enilria)