On January 31st, a Belgian couple traveling back to Belgium from Israel almost left without their baby. The parents assumed that they would not have to pay any extra money since the child does not occupy the same space as an adult. Tut the reality, the found out, was different.
When they arrived at the counter to check in their bags, Ryanair employees told them that they had to get a ticket for the child, as the company’s regulations state that you can buy a seat for the child by paying a normal fare. Alternatively, an infant can pay a fixed price of €25/£25 for a lap seat (between 8 days and 23 months).
According to the Jerusalem Post, the couple objected to paying any extra fare. It was then that they decided to abandon the baby at the counter, to the unusual gaze of the workers, who declared, “We had never seen anything like this, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing.”
It was then that they alerted the police to what was happening, who proceeded to detain the Belgian couple and ask them the pertinent questions. They claimed that they had not abandoned their child, but had arrived late at the airport and left the baby at the counter to get through security more quickly.
The Israeli Airport Authority has confirmed the incident, sharing the following statement with CNN, “A couple and an infant with Belgian passports arrived for a flight at Terminal 1 without a ticket for the baby. The couple also arrived late for the flight, once the check-in for the flight was closed. The couple left the infant seat with the baby and ran toward the security checks at Terminal 1 in an attempt to reach the boarding gate for the flight.”
