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Family Forgets 18-Month-Old At Airport

Posted by asflutz

There's a reason why flight attendants always remind passengers to make sure they have all their belongings before disembarking:  people are forgetful, and easily distractible.  So forgetful that maybe those stewardesses should start reminding them to make sure they have everything before they get back ON the plane.  You know, layovers can be so chaotic, with everyone rushing around to eat, maybe make some phone calls, use the restroom, that it's easy to lose track of important things like your passport, your visa . . . and your children? 

That's what happened to a Filipino family yesterday.  The family was emigrating to Winnipeg, and got off the plane during a layover in Vancouver.  The boy's parents and grandparents weren't sitting together on the plane, and when they boarded again, each pair assumed the toddler was with the other pair.

And basically, they didn't realize they left their kid wandering around the Vancouver airport until airline employees found the boy - who, because he was a lap child, had no boarding pass or other identification - and cleverly used passenger manifests to figure out who he must be, and contacted the pilot.

Once the plane landed, the father immediately flew back to Vancouver to get the boy.  

What's Filipino for "oops"? 


Comments

 

Nicole said:

Actually, my Dad once forgot me at an airport. I believe it was JFK (small plane terminal). I was a bookworm and was always reading and he took off in our small Cessna and didn't realize that he had forgotten his 5 year old daughter until he realized that there was no little girl holding open the map book! He turned around and flew back, apparently I never even noticed that he had left, and was still reading when he came rushing back in the terminal :)

May 14, 2008 6:52 PM

About asflutz

Amy S.F. Lutz's work has appeared in dozens of literary journals, including Cream City Review, The American Poetry Review, Puerto del Sol, and Mid-American Review. She and her husband have five children. Amy and her sister chronicle their adventures in communal living in their blog whoelsewantstoliveinmyhouse.com

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