Keeping Children Safe During Their Travels Alone

While I was growing up, I was never really at the airport that much. As a matter of fact, I was at the airport one time while I was a child and that was when I was 14 years old. At the time, I was with my mother and my sister. Even though I was never at the airport alone or flew alone when I was a child, my mother and her sister flew alone while they were little kids so that they could see their father in Florida during the summer. The airport can be a scary place to a young child because they are big, crowded and loud.

Here are ways to keep children safe if they are to travel alone:

1. When you take your child to the airport, make sure they board the plane. That means taking them all of the way to the terminal.

2. Make sure that your child has a cell phone with them so that you can contact them and they can contact you.

3. Try to choose a flight that offers a nonstop round trip. This makes things easier because the child will not have to find his/her way to the next plane.

4. Make sure that someone is able to pick the child up at the arrival destination.

5. Make sure to tell the child to not talk to strangers and if they feel uncomfortable or need assistance to run to one of the people that work at the airport.

6. If the child is very frightened of flying on a plane, strongly consider not sending him/her alone.

7. Make sure the contact information you give to your travel agent or the airline is correct. This way they can contact you and keep you updated on your child's travel.

8. Let your child know what the travel experience can entail.

Also, consider the important information given by AAA:

9. Airlines will only release children to the people that you give them permission to release them to.

10. If a child is between 1 and 4 years of age, then there must be a caretaker present that is at least 12 years of age. Only children five years of age or older are allowed to travel by themselves.

11. Kids that are between 5 and 8 years of age have to take a direct flight to a single destination and cannot take connecting flights.

12. If a child is between 8 and 11 years of age, airline personnel will take the child to the flight to be boarded.

13. If a child is under 17 years of age and is taking an international flight, a parent or guardian must provide the child with a signed note giving them permission to take the international flight.

14. When making reservations, let the personnel know if your child needs to have a wheel chair, special meals, or anything else important.

15. Arrive at the airport at least an hour and a half before the flight. When you check into the airport with your child, you will have to sign a form that says that the child is unaccompanied. Also, you will have to show your ID and give the name of the person that will be picking up the child.

I hope some of these tips are helpful. Visit the AAA Web site to get some other tips that you may find to be helpful. Happy travels!

Source:

"Handy Advice for Kids Traveling Solo." AAA Exchange.