Shocking moment couple leave their baby at Israeli airport check-in

A couple who abandoned their baby at the check-in desk in Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport before trying to board a flight to Brussels have been detained by police.

The pair arrived at the airport in Tel Aviv on Tuesday with Belgian passports and tickets for a Ryanair flight to the Belgian capital, but did not have a boarding pass for their child.

When they were told by airport staff that they couldn’t board without purchasing a separate ticket, they simply left the child in its pushchair at the check-in desk and proceeded to head for the security terminal. 

Shocking video footage showed the moment gobsmacked airport staff noticed the lone pushchair and pulled back a blanket, exposing the abandoned baby underneath.

At first, it appeared as though someone had forgotten a pushchair at the check-in desk

But airport staff pulled down a cover to reveal a baby had been left inside by its parents who had attempted to get through security

In the clip, one member of staff peels back a cover that had been draped over the pushchair, which was sat on a conveyor belt at the check-in desk.

Audible gasps of surprise are heard when the staff realise a baby has been left alone in the pushchair with its parents nowhere in sight.

Staff at the security check-in refused to allow the pair through, forcing them to return to collect the infant before calling the police who descended on Terminal 1 and promptly arrested them.

The pair were taken in for questioning. 

The manager of the Ryanair desk told the Jerusalem Post: ‘We’ve never seen anything like this. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.’

According to Ryanair, people travelling with an infant can either pay around £25 for a lap seat or can buy a separate seat for the child at a standard adult fare. 

The parents attempted to get through the security check at the airport’s Terminal 1 but were turned away by staff who forced them to collect their child

Israel’s Airport Authority also released a statement, explaining the couple had arrived late for their flight and left the baby at the check-in desk in an attempt to make it through security in time.

‘A couple with Belgian passports arrived for a Ryanair flight at Terminal 1 without a ticket for the baby. 

‘The couple also arrived late for the flight after the flight’s check-in counters had closed. 

‘They left the baby and went to the security check-in at Terminal 1 to get to the departure gate. 

‘A ground services shift manager took the couple back to the flight counters to take the baby and called the police and a security guard.’

The parents were detained by police after leaving their baby at the check-in at the Ben-Gurion Airport (pictured) in the Israeli capital

The shocking incident came just one month after airport staff in Mauritius found a newborn baby boy abandoned in a plane toilet bin on New Year’s Day.

Officials discovered the newborn aboard an Air Mauritius plane during a routine customs check after the aircraft touched down in Mauritius on January 1. 

The baby was born during the flight from Madagascar but was not discovered until the plan landed at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in the capital of Mauritius, Port Louis. 

A 20-year-old woman detained in connection with the discovery initially denied she was the infant’s mother but a medical examination confirmed she had recently given birth.      

The newborn was rushed to hospital for treatment and is understood to be doing well.