When it is necessary to send your children and you are not able to accompany them more and more people tend to send them by airline. The reason is that most airlines allow children to fly with certain restrictions that are put in place for the safety and well-being of the child. The rules and regulations vary from airline to airline because there are no regulatory guidelines with respect to unaccompanied children. You need to check with the airlines that you are going to use to find out in advance just what the regulations are and how helpful the airlines will be for the safety of your child.

Most airlines to adhere to an age limit for children who are flying alone and that is the minimum age is usually five years old and the maximum age is typically twelve years of age. Any child that is younger than five years of age must be accompanied by an adult and any child that is over the age limit does not get the rights of an unaccompanied child.  Any child that is traveling within the age guidelines does get special services that is helpful to the child.

Special Treatment for unaccompanied children

• In most cases the child is provided an escort to make sure that they reach their destination safely making any necessary transfers on time.

• The child/children are often allowed to board the airplane early and the flight attendants are well aware that they are traveling without an adult.

• Whenever there is a delay for an extended time the airline makes sure that parties on both ends are notified of the where abouts of the child/children and when there next flight will be leaving.

• The child is provided with food and drinks to help them wait comfortably without being hungry or thirsty.

• The flight attendants make sure that no person or persons can harm the child or try to take the child away from the safe area.

One important thing to remember is that the airlines do there best for the safety of your child but that does not mean that an accident or an unforeseen event might still happen. You should always make sure that your child is aware of certain rules and restrictions to protect them from anything harmful.

You as the parent should try to teach your child not to speak to strangers never go off with anyone and stay with the flight attendant. You should also teach them to let the flight attendant know if they need to go to the bathroom or take a drink not to assume that it is ok.  One thing that you can do as a parent is try to book your child on a nonstop flight in order to protect them from having to switch planes and getting confused. You should not book them on the last flight of the day because if something happens mid flight there would be no connecting flight until the next day. When you work together with the airlines you will find that it can be a very pleasant experience for you and your child.