The couple reportedly refused to pay for a ticket for the baby while they were trying to fly from Israel to Brussels.
A couple who did not purchase a ticket for their baby boy left the infant at the check-in counter in Ben Gurion Airport and tried to board a plane out of the country, the Israel Airports Authority said Tuesday.
The parents, who both hold Belgian passports, had planned to take the baby with them on a Ryanair flight to Brussels but arrived late, after the check-in counters had closed.
A couple arrived at the Tel Aviv airport for Ryanair 4710, the 12:55 p.m. flight to Brussels-Charleroi on Tuesday.
They were traveling with their infant son, but hadn’t paid the airline’s €25 (US$27.14) fee for an infant in lap.
The couple then sprinted off toward security, leaving the infant behind in a baby carrier.
Airport staff intercepted the couple and ordered them to go back and get the baby, while alerting police and airport security.
The parents were taken in for questioning by police, along with the baby, Channel 12 reported.
Ryanair staff at the airport said in a statement: “All the workers were in shock. We have never seen anything like that. We didn’t believe what we were seeing,” Channel 12 reported.