An incident at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey has once again raised concerns about passenger safety and airport infrastructure. A 2-year-old boy went missing after climbing onto a baggage conveyor belt while his mother was occupied with ticketing procedures.
While the mother was updating her flight reservation, the child wandered off and climbed onto the baggage belt used by passengers to drop off their luggage. He was pulled into the system and slid down to the lower level. The child was soon found unharmed by airport police near an X-ray screening machine.
The toddler, who was at the airport with his family preparing to fly to Tampa, Florida for a holiday, was taken for a medical check-up after the incident and continued his journey safely.
Newark Airport in the Spotlight Again
This incident is the latest in a series of issues at Newark Liberty International Airport. The airport has frequently made headlines due to long taxi queues, frequent flight cancellations, power outages, staffing shortages in the control tower, and public health concerns.
At the end of April, radar and communication systems in the control tower were disabled for 90 seconds, causing severe delays across thousands of flights. At least five air traffic controllers had to take trauma leave following the event. A similar system failure had also occurred in November.
Health Risks Also a Concern
In recent weeks, a person passing through Terminal B was found to have measles, prompting health officials to issue a warning due to the potential risk of an outbreak.
