Jade Small
Jade Small
March 14, 2024 ·  3 min read

A Plane Was Forced To Turn Back Around After Mom Informs Crew She Forgot Her Baby At The Airport

I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine ever forgetting my baby at an airport and hopping on a plane without him! But, apparently, this sort of thing actually does happen! Evidently, in 2019 a Saudia Airlines plane that had just taken off and was scheduled to fly from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia suddenly had an unexpected turn of events to deal with. All when a mother realized that she forgot her baby at the airport terminal of King Abdul Aziz International.

Mother forgot her baby at the airport

The mother who forgot her baby at the airport notified the flight attendants of this shocking news and vehemently insisted that the plane turn back. A flurry of activity ensued with air control operators communicating with pilots to work out exactly what to do. It was unclear what the protocol was that needed to be followed. This was an unusual situation to deal with, and there was some obvious confusion about how to deal with the situation effectively.

The pilot was heard saying to air traffic control after stating the flight number: “May God be with us. Can we come back or what? This flight is requesting to come back…a passenger forgot her baby in the waiting area, the poor thing.” The pilot continued. Air traffic staff asked the pilot to reiterate and verify the communication, to which the pilot responded, “We told you, a passenger left her baby in the terminal and refuses to continue the flight.”[2]

Turning the plane around

It is unclear exactly how long it took to make the decision. Obviously, there was no clear protocol of what was to be followed for situations like this! But, permission was granted by air traffic control for the plane to turn around and head back to Jeddah. “Ok, head back to the gate,” he said. “This is totally a new one for us!” Video footage that was captured of the air control operators communicating by radio to the pilots was released of this event that happened in 2019. According to Gulf News and GDN Online, social media went wild with posts about the mother who forgot her baby at the airport.[1][2]

Mixed feelings were posted about the mother who was then eventually reunited with her baby. There is no further information obtainable about the mother and the baby. It certainly baffled many who viewed the footage and heard about the story about the mother who forgot her baby at the airport, as to how she could have forgotten her baby in the first place. Certainly commendations for the pilots, crew, and air control staff of how they dealt with this unusual situation flooded in.[1][2]

It’s not the first time someone forgot their baby at the airport

In 2018, there was another situation where a child was left behind. This happened in the southern city of Stuttgart. Equally, a German couple left their 5-year-old daughter behind at the airport.  Although, police found their daughter. At present, they were unable to establish exactly how long she had been left on her own. The parents were tracked down when the mother called the police to enquire if her daughter had been found at the airport. The mother explained that she and her husband had driven different cars back home from the airport. So, each party thought they had the child with them![1]

Keep Reading: Surrogate Mom Becomes Pregnant With Own Child While Carrying Couple’s Baby

Sources

  1. Plane Forced to Turn Around After Mother Realizes She Left Her Baby at the Airport.” Newsweek. David Brennan. November 3rd, 2019.
  2. Saudi plane turns around after mother forgets baby at airport. “The Gaurdian. Hannah Ellis-Petersen. March 12th, 2019.