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Last weekend, March 9, 2019, a video went viral on social media after a flight of Saudia, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia, bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was forced to turn around when the mother told cabin crew that her baby was still at the departure terminal.
You could hear the pilot of flight SV832 requesting permission from the air traffic control operators (ATC) to head back to the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
According to Gulf News, the pilot told ATC operators, “May God be with us. Can we come back or what?”
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The operator then discussed the protocol for such situations to another colleague. “This flight is requesting to come back… a passenger forgot her baby in the waiting area, the poor thing.”
The operator asks the pilot to repeat his reason for coming back, to which he replied, “We told you, a passenger left her baby in the terminal and refuses to continue the flight.”
At this point, the operator gives permission. “Ok, head back to the gate. This is totally a new one for us!” he says.
The video did not specify whether the plane was already in the air when the pilot requested to turn back, and it was also not clear whether the baby was left at the terminal alone.ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWWhat other parents are reading
A case of mommy brain?
Insider reports, however, the woman might not have forgotten her baby as many reports implied. According to a Twitter user named Fahad M. Albarrak, the infant was with his aunt, the woman’s sister, who boarded the wrong bus at the airport and missed the flight. When the mother of the baby realized what happened, she insisted for the plane to turn around.
“Just to clarify and not to blame the mom unitarily, the baby was with her sister and they were in two different buses, her sister and the baby went by mistake to the Jakarta flight and then she returned to the terminal.”CONTINUE READING BELOWwatch nowWhat other parents are reading
One mom on a Facebook group, who claims to know the flight staff, told the group's members that the plane was not midair, as previously suggested, although it was already on the runway. She said the child was with family members, some of whom were traveling by air for the first time.
It is rare for planes to turn around or divert midair for anything other than technical or passenger health reasons, says The Guardian.
When foreign media outlets first came out with this story, the word "forgot" placed a prominent place in the headlines. But we felt there was more to the story, and the updates we read did not really provide answers but more questions. What was her child doing with her aunt? Why were they boarding separately? Why did the mom board ahead of time?It is possible we'll hear more about what transpired. Or maybe the mom will try her best never to reveal herself so she doesn't have to face the world's judgment.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWWhat we know for sure: a mom will do anything for her kids, maybe even beg a pilot to turn the plane around.
Have you ever "lost" your baby? Share your story in the comments!
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