a captain of the airline TUI has become social media hero after making an unusual decision when he was about to take off from the Tenerife South airport bound for the airport East Midlandsin United Kingdom, The last friday. The reason: when he was about to take off, already at the head of the Tenerife airport, the captain returned the aircraft to the boarding gate of the terminal to picking up a father and daughter who had been left on the ground after failing to find their passports in their hand luggage. The rest of the family, who had been able to board, was on the plane.
Although many have applauded the captain on social networks, others have complained about causing the delay that all passengers suffered due to this unusual decision.
This is a decision commanders can make, but it is rare. Safety always comes first, but punctuality, economy and humanity are also important aspects that are included in a general assessment of the decisions made by aircraft pilots, the vice president of the Norwegian Aviation Association, Jo Bjørn Skatval, told flysmart24.
This story has occurred when a family group of six members had to return to England on this flight. Nevertheless, the father and one of the daughters stayed on landat the Tenerife Sur airport security control when they did not find the little girl’s passport, as they say in the newspaper Canary Weeklyin which they take the opportunity to thank the captain for having taken them into consideration.
The whole family started looking for the documentation but they couldn’t find it. TUI staff warned that the exit for passengers to access the plane was going to be closed. Father and daughter stayed at the security checkpoint, while the rest of the family boarded the plane.
Just a few minutes later, the girl’s passport appeared and they passed the security check, but it was too late: the plane had already left for the head of the runway to take off.
The captain’s decision
The odyssey of this family had reached the ears of the crew. On the plane, the other three children of the family could be heard crying because they had had to leave their father and sister behind. It was then that someone from the cabin crew told the captain of the aircraft what was happening and this is what he decided to do: he contacted the TUI staff to facilitate the man and his daughter access to the boarding gate and to the street from which the plane had left.
The captain informed the tower of his decision and returned to pick up the two passengers to reunite them with the rest of the family.
