Circumstances and various occasions may sometimes necessitate that minors travel alone by aircraft. Each of the five largest airlines in the United States – Southwest, American, United, Delta and Continental – require that minors traveling alone be registered in the airline’s “unaccompanied minor service” program. These unaccompanied minor service programs incorporate important security measures designed to ensure that minors traveling alone have safe departures and arrivals. Some of these measures include providing the child with a lanyard for identification, supervised pre-boarding onto the aircraft, introduction to flight attendants, chaperoned connections, if any, and turning over minors to the appropriate person at their final destinations. It is important that parents, guardians, minors and those responsible for minors at departures and arrivals familiarize themselves with assorted safety concerns before a minor’s trip. This article offers several recommendations of things to consider.
Review the unaccompanied minor service programs of each airline
The minimum age for traveling alone on any of the five major airlines is five years. Each airline’s unaccompanied minor service program, however, has different rules, restrictions and availability. For instance, some programs only provide services for minors ages five to 11, while others extend services to teens up to 17 years of age. Many limit flights to direct and non-stop for the youngest of children, some allow connecting flights to their own airlines for older children, others allow connecting flights to different airlines and nearly all prohibit minors from traveling alone on the last connecting flight of the evening. Each airline also requires the completion of various forms, some in conjunction with booking a minor’s reservation and others at the airport ticket counter. All of the airlines also have specific rules regarding the production of identification for those to whom minors will be released at flight destinations.
Arrive at the airport comfortably in advance of a flight’s departure and arrival
All of the unaccompanied minor service programs have requirements that those responsible for minors traveling alone arrive at the airport sufficiently in advance of a flight’s departure and arrival-anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours. The reason for these requirements is to provide sufficient time to complete necessary forms, verify contact information, prepare an identification lanyard to be worn by the minor, pay necessary fees, prepare check-point passes, pre-board the minor, introduce the minor to flight attendant(s) and finally examine the forms of identification produced by the person to whom the minor is released at the flight’s destination.
Advise minors of what to expect without overloading them with information
The goal here is to make minors comfortable and ensure their safety without burdening them with superfluous information. As set forth above, the unaccompanied minor service programs are specifically designed to account for the safety of minors traveling alone. Minors should, however, at least know their departure and arrival cities, the approximate duration of their flights, the identity of the person to whom they will be released, standards of behavior (both their own and that to be expected of others) and that if they ever need help of any kind, or need to be directed to a restroom, that they should call on a flight attendant. Also, advise minors to request a seat during pre-boarding that is in a row without any other passengers or at least no passenger sitting directly next to them.
Finally, even though most airlines will provide a minor with a lanyard, consider making a few laminated cards that minors can carry with them that include important information such as: departure airport, time of departure, name of airline(s), flight number(s), destination airport, time of arrival, parents’/guardians’ phone number(s) and phone number(s) and address of person to whom child will be released. Be circumspect, however, about including unnecessary personal information and make it clear to minors that they should not share information with anyone other than flight attendants and airline employees to whom their care is entrusted.
Coordinate with the person to whom a minor traveling alone will be released
Most important, of course, is that minors traveling alone be released to the proper adult when they arrive at their destination. It is critical, therefore, that the person to whom a minor is to be released be conscientious of their responsibilities and all of the details of the minor’s itinerary. Chief among those responsibilities is to be prompt, to be properly credentialed with the specific identification required by the unaccompanied minor service program and to monitor the progress of the flight. If this person is not a parent or guardian, parents or guardians should make arrangements to stay in close contact with this person until the minor is safely placed in their custody.
Special considerations for minors traveling alone internationally
When booking an international flight for an unaccompanied minor, it is important to coordinate with the airline to ensure that the minor is properly credentialed for travel. If a minor is traveling alone internationally, he or she sometimes must meet particular international document requirements. Some nations, for instance, may require documents such as a notarized letter, affidavit or certification stating that a minor is permitted to travel alone. Naturally, of course, passports and other types of documentation proving citizenship may also be required depending on the minor’s destination.
Source(s):
Children Traveling Alone, Continental Airlines
Children Traveling Alone, Delta Air Lines
Children Traveling Unaccompanied, United Airlines
Traveling with Children, Southwest Airlines
Traveling with Children and Infants, American Airlines
