Two Kids End Up in Wrong Cities After Flying Alone

Would You Let Your Child Fly Solo?

June 22, 2009

Wee ones eager to earn their wings at an early age have no problem jet-setting around the country by themselves. Divorced families and transplanted grandparents keep unchaperoned youngsters at the top of mileage reward programs. While most airlines have an unaccompanied minor program, it's not a guarantee the child will get to their destination safe and sound. A while ago, a flight attendant was allegedly to blame for an eight-year-old's illness. Then recently, another eight-year-old and a 10-year-old each ended up in the wrong cities on separate occasions. While I'll certainly want my tots to visit their family, I don't know when I'll be brave enough to let them travel alone. Would you put your child on a solo flight?

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7 Comments

ilanac13 3 years 48 weeks

yes - i would. i think that the airlines take things like this very seriously - that there's really not as much to worry about as you might think.

kdottt 3 years 48 weeks

I actually flew alone plenty of times when I was younger. My parents were seperated and I lived in BC with my mom while my father lived in Ontario. I flew Air Canada with their unaccompanied minors program more times than I can imagine. They were always super great. When you reached 12 I think the age was, you didn't HAVE to be considered an UM anymore.. but I still did it because I wasn't confident in finding my way. Only two times have I ever had a 'problem' and neither of them were the airlines fault. When I was way younger, on my way home, we were delayed because of weather and ended up getting in way too late to make any flights.. They pulled me aside when I got off the plane to talk to my mom who they had on the phone.. I ended up having to stay overnight with a 'babysitting service' that they had. I was very scared and upset, but the lady was very nice and treated me great. We stayed in a nice hotel beside the airport and I was put on the first flight in the morning. The second time, I was 12. I had made my mom pay the UM fee because I was still worried.. thank goodness she did. Coming back from my fathers, we were delayed because of a huge storm between Alberta and BC.. There was another kid in the same situation as me and they were gonna send us back!!!! Both of us couldn't wait to get home though.. we heard flight attendants and the people in charge of us talking about a flight from Calgary (where we were) to Vancouver, then if the weather was okay from Van to Victoria where we were headed. When they decided to send us back from where we came, we stood up to them and asked about the other flights. Thankfully they did it for us, and my stepdad picked me up in Vancouver on the ferry, that way if we got stuck at least we'd be together. The other kid had to wait a few hours for his flight but still got home! Air Canada always took great care of me in those situations, as well as others where there wear shorter delays. They gave you vouchers for food in the airport and always took great care of you. Sorry to bore you all with my story, thought I'd give you a first hand account of what happens !

kdottt 3 years 48 weeks

3 years 48 weeks

Depends on the child, the airline, where they're going, etc. It's not something I can say yes or no to without taking other factors into consideration. I have an older child that absolutely could not fly alone due to his temperament, and a younger who could probably take over the controls and entertain the passengers.

sham28 3 years 48 weeks

I flew to Paris alone at age 9, and my mom had already told me to ask a lady with kids for help if I ever lost one of the flight attendants that was watching me. I was walked to and from each gate though, it wasn't a huge problem. I wouldn't recommend having your little one fly alone more than once though, there's a lot of room for error.

Kimpossible 3 years 48 weeks

My 3 youngest just flew alone for the first time on Friday. There were 4 other children flying w/out adults on the same flight (3 siblings from one family and 1 little girl all by herself). I was surprised to see that many on one flight, but it actually made me feel better. And the airline handled it very well.

kty 3 years 48 weeks

i can let him fly solo when he'll be a teenager,but at the moment,i'll rather have him fly with me or with family and friends

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