Parents 'abandon son, 10, at airport when told his passport had expired'

A couple allegedly left their their 10-year-old son at Barcelona's El Prat international airport to be picked up by a relative after his passport expired so they wouldn't miss the flight. The claim was made in a video on TikTok by a woman called Lilian who says she works at the terminal, The Sun reports.

She alleges airport staff found the young boy on his own and contacted the police. "He told them that his parents were on the plane on their way to their home country, going on vacation," she claimed.

Lilian claims the pilot was then contacted contacted and asked passengers "if someone had left a child in the terminal and no one had answered."

The TikToker claims the parents were located with a younger child and were taken to the police station where the boy was.

"His passport in the country was expired, so the child was travelling with a Spanish passport but the Spanish passport needed a visa.

"As they did not have a visa, they left the child at the terminal and called a relative to come and pick him up," Lilian claimed.

She claims they said "they were not going to lose the tickets."

Lilian claims the parents "saw it as very normal". "Obviously I didn't see it as normal and the police didn't see it as normal either," she added.

Lilian claims she had to manage the removal of the family's luggage.

She asked: "How is it possible for parents to leave their ten-year-old son at the terminal because he cannot travel due to documentation issues?

"They call a relative but the relative may take half an hour, about an hour, about three hours and they take the flight so calmly and leave the child behind!"

Her account couldn't be confirmed, and it's not known who the parents were. It's also unknown whether they received any kind of caution from police or were charged over the alleged incident.

Aena, the state airport operator which runs El Prat, has been approached for comment.