A forgetful mother has caused a flight emergency in Saudi Arabia.

The mum was on board Saudia Flight SV832 from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia when she realised she was missing something – her baby.

The infant had been left at the boarding gate as the plane took off.

The pilot radioed back to air traffic control in Jeddah to tell them he was heading back.

Audio of the exchange has been posted on YouTube, reports Gulf News.

At one stage the pilot says: “We told you, a passenger left her baby in the terminal and refuses to continue the flight.”

“Ok, head back to the gate”, said the controller. “This is totally a new one for us!”