Saudia Airlines 777 diverts back home to pick up forgotten baby

[McGinty]

Various news outlets are reporting that a Saudia flight to Malaysia turned around to pick up a baby that a female passenger left behind in the waiting area at Jeddah airport. https://www.theepochtimes.com/flight-returns-to-airport-after-passenger-forgets-baby_2832920.html

[Airbubba]

Sounds like a block turnback on the ground to me. My Arabic is a little rusty though.

https://youtu.be/U3t8NYYWMKY

Neither of the SV832 flights this past weekend did an air turnback to JED from what I can see.

[DaveReidUK]

The article linked by the OP makes it clear that the flight returned to the gate.

[Airbubba]

From the article linked above:

The incredulous air-traffic controller had to double-check what the desperate passenger said she had left behind when the pilot radioed in requesting to return the airport.

“We told you, a passenger left her baby in the terminal and refuses to continue the flight,” came the reply, recorded in a video clip that quickly went viral on the internet.

According to Gulf News, the airplane had already taken off when the passenger alerted the crew on the weekend Saudia airlines flight SV832 from Jeddah in Dubai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The bizarre request caught air-traffic officials off guard, as they scrambled to figure out whether leaving a baby behind constituted an “emergency” according to airline protocols, which are naturally strict on the criteria for turning flights around.

[DaveReidUK]

According to Gulf News, the airplane had already taken off when the passenger alerted the crew on the weekend Saudia airlines flight SV832 from Jeddah in Dubai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Gulf News appears not to understand the difference between "departed" and "taken off".

[Hotel Tango]

The bizarre request caught air-traffic officials off guard, as they scrambled to figure out whether leaving a baby behind constituted an “emergency” according to airline protocols, which are naturally strict on the criteria for turning flights around.

Absolute tosh! It is not ATC's business as to why an aircraft needs to return to the gate. The crew would not have to declare an emergency, just simply request taxi clearance back to the gate for "operational" reasons.

[Capn Bloggs]

Headcount?

[metro301]

Absolute tosh! It is not ATC's business as to why an aircraft needs to return to the gate. The crew would not have to declare an emergency, just simply request taxi clearance back to the gate for "operational" reasons.

The clip is from 'Company" not ATC. The Capt was asking advice from the duty manager. Clearly you can hear the ground operator say he was "dispatch". He also clearly says "confirm, you want to return to the gate".

[Harley Quinn]

Let's hope both the airline and the airport squeeze her for costs and the authorities remove the baby to a place of safety. How on earth do you forget a baby?

[Bull at a Gate]

Which of us can honestly say that we haven’t wanted to leave one or more of our children behind when we boarded a flight?

[Curious Pax]

Let's hope both the airline and the airport squeeze her for costs and the authorities remove the baby to a place of safety. How on earth do you forget a baby?

Cameron when U.K. PM managed to leave his kid in a pub, but no one shouted for his resignation. Though given how U.K. politics have progressed since then perhaps they should have done!

[cooperplace]

Which of us can honestly say that we haven’t wanted to leave one or more of our children behind when we boarded a flight?

maybe she thought hubby had it, and vice versa, in any case I think it's nice that they turned around for this.

[irpond]

Apart from 'depart' and 'take off,' Gulf News also has problems with the location of Jeddah.

[atakacs]

Apart from 'depart' and 'take off,' Gulf News also has problems with the location of Jeddah.

Indeed - but it is Gulf news so they can probably be excused for their poor geographic skills of that part of the world.

As for the story itself seems pretty minor.

[svhar]

This is fake news. Just to get you all tuned up. Nobody forgets his or her child. This never happened.

[WingNut60]

In the case of families accustomed to travelling with a "maid / nanny" I can easily imagine this happening.
Not sure about M-E but this flight was headed for KL.

No shortage of Malaysian mothers who have very little contact or responsibility for their infants once the stitches go in.
They blithely swan around assuming that the pembantu has hold of the little one(s).

[judebrad]

Which of us can honestly say that we haven’t wanted to leave one or more of our children behind when we boarded a flight?

100% agree,

[A. Muse]

Brings to mind that wonderful Larsen cartoon of the 'Wing Baby' where father points out of the window at a dummy in the shape of a baby trailing from the wing and says to his little one 'that's what happens if you don't keep quiet'. The caption reads something like 'All airlines could improve passenger comfort by installing a wing baby'. I WISH!