CHILDREN FLYING ALONE: POLICIES IN AIRLINES, AIRPORTS AND HOTELS

With many children flying alone to visit family and friends over the February half-term holidays, Airport Parking & Hotels (APH) has created a guide comparing airline policies for ‘unaccompanied minors’ to help families plan ahead.

The research compares the policies of 18 airlines, including British Airways, easyJet, and Virgin Atlantic for children flying unaccompanied, any special assistance provided and any additional costs incurred to the customer.

The age permitted for children to fly unsupervised varies between airlines, with seven airlines that include bmi, British Airways and Emirates only allowing children aged 12 or over to travel unaccompanied and without special assistance. Three airlines, easyJet, Jet2 and Thomson Airways, only permit children aged 14 or over to travel unaccompanied and without special assistance. Four airlines, Aer Lingus, Monarch, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic extend this policy further and only permit children aged 16 or over to travel unaccompanied without special assistance.

However, 12 airlines offer continuous supervision for any children flying without a parent or guardian including Air France, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

The cost varies between airlines with fees ranging from £18 for the Kids Solo service on a domestic flight with Air France to £100 for the Unaccompanied Minor Service with American Airlines. Unaccompanied children flying with Emirates, KLM and Virgin Atlantic should also note that Unaccompanied Minors will be charged the price of an adult’s fare.

After checking-in an unaccompanied child, eight of the airlines researched required a parent or guardian to remain in the airport until the child’s flight was airborne with flybe also requesting the parent or guardian to remain in the airport 15 minutes after the flight has departed. Children flying unaccompanied with Qantas must have a named custodian aged at least 18 or a sibling aged at least 15 available by telephone at all times whilst the child is in the care of Qantas. All airlines researched also require formal photo ID from the parent or guardian collecting a child from the airport.

When it comes to specific requests, any unaccompanied child with medical conditions should declare their conditions when booking their seat. Travellers should note that if a child is severely allergic to peanuts or cats they will not be permitted to fly unaccompanied with Air Canada. Children flying under supervision of Air Canada staff may not travel with a pet in the cabin and when travelling in Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class, unaccompanied children cannot use the Upper Class lounge or the limousine service.

To ensure unaccompanied children’s safety, Delta Air Lines provides unaccompanied minors with a barcode-trackable wristband, which is scanned throughout their journey. Likewise, Air Canada provides a lanyard for children and Lufthansa provides a yellow shoulder bag in which all travel documents should be kept.

Fuente: traveldailynews.com