Originally published Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Hurried parents forget child at Israel airport

An Israeli couple going on a European vacation remembered to take their duty-free purchases and their 18 suitcases but forgot their 3-year-old...

By MARK LAVIE

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — An Israeli couple going on a European vacation remembered to take their duty-free purchases and their 18 suitcases but forgot their 3-year-old daughter at the airport, police said Monday.

The couple and their five children were late for a charter flight to Paris on Sunday and made a mad dash to the gate. In the confusion, their daughter got lost.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a policeman found her wandering in the duty-free area at Ben-Gurion airport, Israel's bustling main international air portal. He said the officer alerted airline staff, but the flight had already taken off.

The incident happened on what Israeli media said was one of the busiest days of the year at the Israeli airport, with thousands of people leaving for summer vacations abroad.

Rosenfeld said the parents were unaware they had boarded the aircraft with only four children instead of five until they were informed by cabin staff after 40 minutes in the air.

The child, accompanied by an airline staffer, took the next flight to Paris, where she was safely reunited with her parents.

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