It’s straight out of ‘Home Alone’ the movie.
The Parreno family (grandparents, father, mother, and 18-month old son) had just arrived as Canadian immigrants in Vancouver’s airport. After the long flight from the Philippines, they had to unpack and repack their luggage, presumably for customs inspections. They only had 10 minutes before they had to be on their connecting flight to Winnipeg via Air Canada. Having to deal with the stress of a permanent move to a foreign country, an exhausting flight, customs and immigration, and a delayed flight, the family was as harried as can be imagined.
In their hurry, the four adults inadvertently split into two groups. The mom and the grandparents were at the gate first, and thought that the little boy was with his father, who brought up the rear. The dad thought his son was with them. They probably checked in immediately, since they were late, and didn’t wait for the group to be completed.
As luck would have it, they got separate seats, and didn’t realize they were missing one. And the kid didn’t have a boarding pass of his own, because he was a “lap passenger”. So he wasn’t even on the airline’s computer system.
The little boy was eventually found wandering by himself. He didn’t speak English so the airport staff got a Tagalog-speaking agent to watch over him. His family was eventually traced, and they found out from the flight crew.
Can you imagine how the question would have gone? Something like this, perhaps:
“Ma’am, do you know where your son is?”
“He’s with his father, isn’t he? Or is he?!?!”
“He’s still back at the airport where you left him, ma’am.”
The good news is that this story had a happy ending. Air Canada flew Jun Parreno, the father, from Winnipeg to Vancouver and back, to be reunited with his son. I’m sure he gave the little boy a giant hug when he saw him again.
It’s a horrible situation to be in, and I’m glad it ended the way it did. But I’m also sure that this story will be told for years to come in the Parreno family. Welcome to North America, guys!
via MSNBC; image posted with permission from Newscom
Tags: Canadian immigrant, child left at at airport, Filipino immigrant stories, immigration stories, Parreno family, Philippines, toddler left at airport, Vancouver 
