The Indian embassy issued an emergency certificate.
In an unexpected turn of events, 18-month-old Dervin Cris’ passport went missing while inside the flight and just minutes before take-off from Abu Dhabi International Airport on Saturday night.
His mother Aslin Mary Theres, airline staff and passengers searched frantically inside the flight, and even the bus they took from the terminal was combed, but to no avail. They couldn’t fly and were deboarded, but then Indian Embassy lent a helping hand.
An emergency certificate was issued, and within 24 hours the toddler and mother could fly to Kerala’s capital of Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday night.
Vinu Anto, Cris’ father, wonders how such an incident could have happened.
“They were on a three-month visit visa and returning to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. Cris is very naughty and gives his mother a tough time. My wife found out just before take-off that the passport was missing. Everyone searched but the passport was mysteriously not found. The 10.05pm flight got delayed due to the search and took off after 25 minutes.”
Anto rushed to the airport from Habshan area, the southwestern region, and later went to the embassy.
“I submitted the necessary documents at the embassy. The airline, too, sent an official mail. The embassy acted swiftly and issued an emergency certificate. I was able to see my family one more time. And they flew out. This was their first visit here and turned out to be quite an experience. This is still unbelievable. It’s some sort of magic as to how a passport disappeared inside a flight,” Anto added.
The embassy official confirmed the incident and said: “We just did our duty.”
