At the Airport Alone - Family Leaves Toddler Behind at the Flight

Toddler misses his flight out of Vancouver

It could have turned out to be a bad story. A family left their 22 month old toddler at the airport on May 12, 2008, and continued on their flight out of Vancouver. It seems that several family members were traveling, each thinking the other had the young child with them. Instead, the non-English speaking child was stranded, alone, at one of Canada's biggest airports.

Because the toddler was not yet two, and traveling as a lap baby (infant traveling without a seat), there was no seat booked for him, and no separate passenger record. There are hundreds of Air Canada flights out of Vancouver every day.

The story did have a happy ending, in large part to Air Canada staff at Vancouver International Airport. The family was from the Philippines, and the child only understood Tagalog. A customer service agent for Air Canada who speaks Tagalog was found, and the child was looked after.

Staff then set about tracking the flight that the family was on. Airport agents then checked all flights departing around the time the child was found. But the flights showed all passengers present and accounted for. Air Canada agents guessed that the toddler probably belonged to a family enroute to Winnipeg. This was confirmed by messages sent to the flight.

This is the part of the story that is a bit difficult to understand - it seems the family was unaware that the boy was not on board until they were questioned by the flight attendants. The adults were apparently seated in different rows, but even with that it is still surprising that his absence went unnoticed.

The airport agents set up for food, toys and diapers. After arriving in Winnipeg, Air Canada sent one of the parents back to Vancouver for their son, and put them in immediate contact over the phone with their little boy. The parent, now in Vancouver, was reunited with the child and the airline arranged for them to return to Winnipeg together.

It could have had a much worse ending, and in an era of decreased customer satisfaction, and airlines that don't seem to care as much as they used to, it's really nice to know of a story where airline staff went above and beyond to make sure one of its youngest passengers was so well cared for.