Can Parents Abandon Their Kids At The Airport?

I read a story over on View from the Wing the other day about two parents left their 10 year old behind at the Barcelona airport. Apparently, at check-in they saw that the child’s passport had expired and he did not have a valid visa to go on their flight. So, rather than cancel their trip, the two parents boarded their flight anyways, and left the 10 year old behind

The Story – Parents Abandon 10 Year Old At The Airport

Airport staff found the boy alone, contacted security, and then the parents were removed from the flight. A member of airport staff posted about it on Tiktok (in Spanish, below).

I did not see anywhere posted the nationality of the family nor the destination where they were flying.

Why This is Wrong

So, on the surface, this certainly seems like improper parenting behavior. While maturity levels vary among 10 year olds, I think the general societal consensus is that it is not appropriate to leave your 10 year old alone in an airport. This is probably why airport staff and security got involved, and why the parents were pulled off the flight. I believe I saw that they are potentially being charged with child abandonment.

Also, what parents don’t check everyone’s passport and visa situation before they fly?!?? Maybe it’s just me but I check everything like 5000 times 🙂

Why Maybe It’s Okay?

So, my general thought is that this behavior is not okay, and not something that I would do. But we are also pretty light on the details of what exactly went on. I find it very difficult to believe that parents would just leave their 10 year old kid in the airport to fend for himself, without making any sort of plan to have someone come to collect him. I think it more likely that they had called a friend or family member who was on the way to pick up the kid. Whether that person was set to arrive in 10 minutes, an hour, or several hours is yet unknown. I guess it was enough of a period of time that they felt that they couldn’t stay with him until the person arrived without risking missing their flight.

I can understand the potential pain of missing out on whatever trip they were going on due to a problem with the kid’s passport. Especially when you might feel that you’ve got it covered and the kid is only going to be alone for a very short period of time before someone comes to collect him. But it feels like one of those situations where the negative consequences are too high. It’s a bit like the parents that left their young kids in their hotel room alone (and the night ended tragically).

The Bottom Line – Can Parents Abandon Their Kids At The Airport?

2 parents are facing child abandonment charges in Barcelona after leaving their 10 year old kid at the airport. Their son was not able to check in to the flight due to an expired passport, and so the parents left him there and boarded their flight anyways. The child was discovered by airport staff, and airport security pulled the parents off the flight, where they are potentially facing charges.

What do you think? Should the parents have left their 10 year old at the airport and flown on without him? Leave your thoughts in the comments below

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