Excited family leaves toddler at airport

Vancouver, British Columbia -- A Filipino family immigrating to Canada was so excited at a flight stopover in Vancouver, they left behind an 18-month-old toddler.

The group was bound for Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the boy's parents and grandparents were seated separately on the aircraft, Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah told the Vancouver Sun. Each pair thought the other had the toddler Monday, she said.

"We were called by (security) who told us one of the security people had a toddler in tow," Mah said. "He doesn't speak English so we found a Tagalog-speaking agent who has been looking after him."

Because the child would have been seated on an adult's lap, he had no boarding pass, and there was initial concern among airline staff because no one had reported a missing child.

After scanning passenger lists, airline staff eventually identified the flight the family was on, and Mah said the parents were put into telephone contact with the child.

Once the flight landed in Winnipeg, Air Canada put the boy's father on a flight back to Vancouver to retrieve his son, Mah said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.