A mother flying from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia over the weekend insisted that the passenger jet turn back mid-flight when she realized she had forgotten her baby at the airport.
The plane was forced to return to the airport soon after takeoff last weekend when the mother realized she had left her baby at the terminal.
The Saudia plane had been due to fly from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, but had to return to the King Abdul Aziz International Airport when the mother refused to continue the journey mid-flight and demanded they reunite her with her child.
Video footage captured the baffled air control operators speaking by radio with the pilots, who were doing their best to explain the bizarre situation. As they did so, the airport staff were trying to establish the protocol for such a scenario, Gulf News reported.
“May God be with us. Can we come back or what?” the pilot can be heard asking the air traffic controllers.
After noting the flight number, the operator asks a colleague what protocol they should follow, if one even exists, Newsweek report.
“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 then pressed the pilot to confirm the story, to which he replied: “We told you, a passenger left her baby in the terminal and refuses to continue the flight.”
With the story straight, the operator then gave them the all-clear to turn around and return to Jeddah.
He said: “Ok, head back to the gate. This is totally a new one for us!”
The plane returned to King Abdul Aziz International Airport where the mother was able to retrieve her child.
Below is an audio recording between the pilot and air traffic controller. A bit of English is tossed in at around :35.