A passenger plane reportedly had to turn around and go back to a Saudi airport after a mother left her baby at the terminal, Gulf News reports.
The Saudi flight from Jeddah was said to be on its way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when the woman realised she had left her infant behind and alerted the airline staff.
A voice recording of the pilot requesting Air Traffic Control in Arabic for permission to return has gone viral on social media.
The translation of the conversation goes: “May God be with us. Can we come back or what?” the pilot is heard asking.
One of the surprised controllers can then be heard telling a colleague: “This flight is requesting to come back…a passenger forgot her baby in the waiting area, the poor thing.”
He then adds: “OK, head back to the gate. This is totally a new one for us!”
The Gulf News reported that the bizarre incident took place over the weekend, implying that the plane was already in the air. However, some reports have suggested that the flight had not yet taken off.
However the saga ended happily as the mother and baby have been reunited. The circumstances that led to her forgetting the baby are not known.