The couple arrived at Sharjah International Airport on Friday evening but waited until the earlier hours of Saturday morning to attempt to clear passport control, police said, because they expected the customs officials would be less vigilant at that hour.

They packed the child into a bag before starting the immigration procedures but they were stopped when security personnel spotted the child on the baggage scan.

“They were risking the life of the baby,” said a Sharjah Police spokesman. “They said in an interrogation that they had resorted to sneaking him through inside a bag because he did not have a passport or visa and they wanted to have him with them in the UAE.”

The couple, who had previously been staying in the UAE illegally, left because the mother was pregnant and wanted to give birth at home in Egypt.

It is not clear how the couple got the child onto the airplane without a passport or whether the child was kept hidden the child during the three-hour plane trip; however the child is believed to be in good health.