Earliest you would allow a child to fly alone?

[lilycat88]

Apparently, my FIL suggested we put DD on a plane to visit them at some point. Of course, he did this when I wasn't around. It would be a very short direct flight from Indianapolis to Memphis. She's 5....no. But, I'm curious when others would consider an unaccompanied flight.

My feeling is that "I'm sorry her school schedule iterferes with your free time away from campaigning and your political responsibilities (state elected official) and the ability of your new wife to spend every holiday with her grandchildren and every weekend going to their activities. But, if you wish to see YOUR grandchild more, get your a$$ up here and see her. I'm not going to put our 5 year old on a plane to accomodate your schedule.

J

ETA: A quick scan seems to show the minimum age is 5 and they must use the "unaccompanied minor" program the airlines offers. The programs seem to cost in the $100 range.

[brittone2]

No way at 5, IMO.

What are the airline policies? My niece flew alone quite a bit when she was younger, but I want to say not until she was at least maybe like 8? She's a teen now but I think at the time there were policies about extra cost and maybe age, but I'm not sure.
(eta: I also remember my family being very concerned about her flying alone, but her dad/mom were divorced and it was their choice. My mom and I were always a little anxious when she had her trips. She just seemed so young, but I can't remember for sure what age she started at).

[crl]

Well, I agree with you--definitely not at 5! Maybe around 12?

Catherine

[pb&j]

Having traveled extensively and worked for the airlines, I'd say teens at the earliest.

[jse107]

Hmm. I've wondered about this myself. I guess it would have to depend on the kid--maturity, anxiety, self-help skills, etc. The earliest I would even consider it--with the unaccompanied minor program--would be 9 or 10.

[cono0507]

I once flew alone in 8th grade and remember being so scared of the people around me I didn't yawn at all to clear my ears and had stuffed up ears for a good 4 days. LOL! At minimum, I'd say when a child is closer to junior high, can read the signs and navigate her way to bathroom, etc and find help if she would get lost.

[SnuggleBuggles]

12? I could see that being an age I was comfortable with but maybe younger. I'd be alright if they were under the care and watch of a flight attendant a bit younger. My niece flew alone and I took her to the gate, waited for the flight to take off then someone met her on the gate at the other end. When I was there, there was a little girl sitting behind the ticketing podium with staff while she was waiting for her loved one.

Beth

[niccig]

I would say early teen years too. But, I was on planes at a much younger age with my 2 sisters. I think I was about 8, my older sister was 11 and my younger sister was 7. My parents would put us on the direct flight and my grandparents would meet us at the other end. We did it before the "unaccompanied minor" was in effect, and the flight attendant would keep an eye on you.

My mum did say something about DS visiting them over the summer when he's older. For a 14+ hour international flight, he'll need to be 15 or 16 and very mature. I think it also helps if the child is used to flying, so they're not scared about their surroundings. The unaccompanied minors are never allowed to be alone. They're always with a member of the airline. But still, I would want DS to be 12 or so for domestic flights.

[carolinamama]

I would NOT be comfortable with DS flying alone for many many years. We did it alot as kids since we lived far from family. Hopefully the programs are better, but my siblings and I were stinkers and got away with it - luckily nothing ever happened to us. When we would have a layover between connecting flights, they would have us wait in a room. However, we would just walk out when they left. We wandered the airports and got food. No-one ever missed a flight or anything, but it just isn't something that I want DSs doing. My parents had no idea that we were doing this since the airlines weren't going to advertise that they were losing the kids they were responsible for and we never filled them in.

[Moneypenny]

I agree that around 12 or early teens depending on the child. I would also want to have traveled several times already with the kid so I knew they had an awareness of what was going to happen and what the procedures were.

[AnnieW625]

I think the earliest age I would consider letting my child flying without adults would be 12.

I was 15 the first time I truly flew alone, but flew with my brother who was 9 at the time when I was 12. My sister was 7 the first time she flew with us, I was 17, and my brother was 14. At almost 13 I went to Disneyland on a school trip that had chaperones, but it was my first time away from my parents on a plane.

All travel was done from Sacramento to the Los Angeles area and my grandparents would meet us at either Burbank or Ontario. We did have to change planes one time at LAX when I was 14 and that freaked my mom out a bit, but it was really easy (my dad was dead set on getting the cheapest fares!)

[infocrazy]

We were trying to figure out how to get our almost 14 yo niece to us last summer, but she was too nervous to fly alone from ORD to DTW. She has never been on a plane before. 13 was the youngest I think you could be on Southwest to not pay a hefty fee. I think it was 15 on NWA.

I'd be fine at early teens as long as they were met at both gates for a direct flight.

[Melanie]

Well my oldest is 8 and he would be terrified.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

We've thought about this as we live far from both sets of grandparents.

I think my 5 year old would probably be fine. We've flown a bunch and as long as I showed him how to work the portable dvd player, he'd be in heaven! :p

I'm thinking maybe somewhere between 8 and 10?

To the OP: why don't you all just visit the ILs?

[elephantmeg]

I flew alone at 12 or 13 but had flown a ton with my parents all my life. I think I actually flew from JA to the US alone at 14.

[egoldber]

Sarah will be doing it this summer at age 8, almost 9. It will be a non-stop flight about 2 hours long.

ETA: She is an experienced flyer though. ;)

[Nooknookmom]

DD was 12 last year when she flew to see her Mimi alone.

She has been flying WITH my Mom back to Georgia to stay for a few weeks since she was 6.

[Tondi G]

before my son was this age I think I would have said 12. He is 8. He is very social and has a good head about him. I think he would probably do fine on a plane by himself. He would probably be chatting it up with the stewardesses or the person sitting next to him and the flight would be over before he knew it! My SIL actually told me to consider sending him up to them (we are in So Cal and they are in No Cal) this summer for a week but my DH response was "alone? Oh hell No!" One of the things I thought about was if something were to go wrong on the flight... god forbid... I wouldn't want my child to be terrified and alone without a parent/family member with them.

So even though I would trust my kiddo to be safe and he would probably be fine, I don't think it would be happening any time soon!

[wellyes]

OP, what a strange request from your FIL..... is there a reason you are not invited to accompany him for the visit?

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

12ish, depending on the child...

[pinkmomagain]

I have a 13 yo and maybe now if she really wanted to do it (non stop, not more than 3 hrs). No way before this age.

[hillview]

I did it at age 9 with my sister who was then 8. I'd do it when my youngest was around 8 or 9 and oldest was 11 IF they seemed ok/ready. IMO I wouldn't do younger than 9 and it'd depend on the child AND the flight (direct 3 hrs no problem etc).
/hillary

[lilycat88]

OP, what a strange request from your FIL..... is there a reason you are not invited to accompany him for the visit?

Why can't I go on the visit?
Oh, I'm welcome to go. We make the trip (8-hour drive) a couple of times a year. We don't fly because from Memphis there is still another 90 minute drive to where they live. By the time we deal with getting ready to fly...the airport...a 40 minute flight...another airport...a 90 minute drive...I'm done and would just rather drive. The issue isn't bad feelings between me, FIL and his wife at all. The issue is that he's too busy OR, his wife can't be away from her grandchildren (who live in the same town) at times that don't involve our DD missing school or something else important. So, apparently, his solution is that we put her on a plane to come visit them for a weekend. He then brought up how great it was 30 years ago when he used to put DH on a bus to go visit grandparents. It's more "special" when it's just grandparent/grandchild. The issue isn't the "driving" with him. He drives to and from the state capitol during legislative session. It's 4.5 hours each way and he goes up on Monday and comes back on Thursday. He just can't "get away".

[egoldber]

before my son was this age I think I would have said 12. He is 8. He is very social and has a good head about him. I think he would probably do fine on a plane by himself. He would probably be chatting it up with the stewardesses or the person sitting next to him and the flight would be over before he knew it!

This was my thought too. When Sarah was 5 I would have said never. :) Even last summer my MIL suggested it when she was 7 and I was not comfortable. But this year I know she will be fine. She'll read a book or play her DS and be fine. We will escort her to the gate, then MIL will meet her at the other gate.

The worst that happens is the flight gets delayed for some reason and she's been through that, so I don't think it will be an issue for her.

I also think one's personal comfort level with flying will affect how you feel about it. We are very frequent flyers and are very comfortable in airports and airplanes. So to me it seems pretty routine. I've also seen plenty of unaccompanied minors on flights and the flights attendants were always checking on them.

[elliput]

For my 12th birthday, I flew to visit my Grandmother- however, I had relatives (aunts and cousins) fly with me both ways. The next year for my 13th birthday, I flew with my younger brother to visit our other grandparents. It really depends on the maturity level of the child, but 12 seems like a good age to me.

[alexsmommy]

We let DSD at 13 - I wouldn't have before then... even that depends on the personality of the child. My concern is can the child sucessfully negotiate the situation if things don't go according to plans? So there is bad weather and the plane is diverted to another city. Is your child ready to handle that? 9-11 changed how I looked at this. Not the obvious tragedy, but the fact that within minutes they were grounding every plane, adults did not know what was going on, airports where chaotic, cell phone lines were jammed. I would want my child old enough/mature enough/secure enough to find someone else traveling with a family and say, "Excuse me, I am traveling alone and I need help." I would want the child to not burst into tears etc if that person brushes them off or just points them to a desk - but know to keep trying until someone offered to make sure they were handed off to the correct airport personnel.
These are the things I considered.

5? No way. No how. Not even open for discussion.

[fivi2]

my sister recently had to debate this with our dad wrt her 12 yo son. He is pretty darn mature and responsible, but she still said no.

The biggest issue was that he would be meeting my dad at another airport that my dad was also flying too. (not my dad's home - they were going to meet at an airport and then continue together to a vacation destination). So, if my dad's flight had been delayed, nephew would have been alone in a strange airport in a strange city. On the return, my dad's flight was going to leave before nephew's. So again, he could have been stranded somewhere alone overnight. No way, period.

But - a direct flight between two homes - maybe at 12. maybe. Would depend a lot on the kid, the airports, the weather, etc. My sister's biggest worry was the same as pp's - what if something happens on the flight and he is alone.

eta: and pp brings up a good point about what if the flight is diverted...

[s7714]

Uh, never if possible! Realistically though, probably once they're 12 or 13. There is no way I'd send a 5 year old alone on a plane ever.

[pb&j]

The worst that happens is the flight gets delayed for some reason and she's been through that, so I don't think it will be an issue for her.



Actually, the worst that could happen is the flight diverts to a different airport for some reason. For instance, mechanical problem, or weather. This happened to me with a UM on board once. It was supposed to be a nonstop from Tulsa to O'Hare, and we ended up having to divert to Madison because of thunderstorms. Long story short, all the pax ended up at a hotel in Madison for the night, including the UM.

But, that was quite a rarity. I'm sure Sarah will be fine!! Really! :cheerleader1:

But, you can see why my kids will have to be practically voting age before I'll let them fly alone. I know waaaaaay too much.

[egoldber]

No, I've been there and done that. But it happens infrequently and we will minimize it by having her fly early morning (it will be summer) so she doesn't get caught by the late afternoon summer thunderstorms. And I think she would be fine anyway. The airline would not leave them alone, they would put them on the next available flight.

I guess I am more of a glass half full kind of person than I thought. :ROTFLMAO: I worried sick about her going to sleep away camp last year and she did great. I also do think it will be a wonderful experience and a wonderful memory for her. My ILs are not so young any more and if she doesn't go this summer, well, they are in their late 70s and realistically anything could happen.

[m448]

Not sure I'll ever be comfortable until they're older teens. My parents sent my brother overseas to Spain when he was 10 and it went well but I remember reading a news story a couple of years ago about a man inappropriately touching a minor on a flight. I believe the child was alone. I can't imagine a flight attendant being constantly on top of the child like a guardian sitting next to them, then there's the issue of the bathroom. Are they accompanied? If not do I feel comfortable with my child heading to an airplane bathroom alone while other adults on the flight know the child is alone? Not really.

[MommyAllison]

An old co worker of mine had a very young son who had visitation with his dad, and I'm pretty sure he was flying unaccompanied before 5. Obviously, that was not her preference (the flying alone or the visitations) but he was going every other week for weekends, and the cost of tickets for her to fly with him every time was unrealistic for her.

For me, I have no idea when I'd be comfortable. DD is 4, and she won't be ready any time soon. She doesn't fly very often though, so that makes a difference, of course. If there was turbulence or a crazy passenger, she would be hysterical. DH and I flew a lot internationally before the kids (well, DH still does), and after some of the crazy things we've had happen, it'll be a long time before we'd send our kids alone.

ETA: I just remembered that I did fly alone to visit relatives when I was 14-15ish. It was a direct flight, 5 hrs long, and I was not nervous at all. It helped that my uncle worked for the airline and upgraded me to first class as a surprise. ;) He stayed at work to watch my flight there and home. I had flown quite a bit by then...I guess I would probably be fine with it at that age. DH comes from a seriously overprotective family and didn't fly at all til after he graduated from high school. So his answer would probably be 18+. :)

[o_mom]

For that situation (short direct flight) I would say 8-9 depending on the child. For a longer flight or one with a connection, I would say 11-12 yrs, again depending on the child. Our niece flew here at age 13 from CA with a connection.

I hear ya on the feelings though... I hear complaining all the time from the ILs that they don't see us, but I don't see their butts on a plane, either.

[bubbaray]

18?

Seriously. I would never let a young child (under the teen years) fly alone. Even if you get a direct, non-stop flight, it can be redirected for various reasons. I have flown enough to know that unattended children are NOT taken care of by the airlines.

[kozachka]

DS loves flying and female flight attendants ;). He's taken many international and domestic flights. DS is also very independent, fairly self sufficient and would not hesitate to ask for help if necessary. I can see putting him on a plane by himself in a couple years if it were a relatively short (2 hours or less) direct flight. So I'd say 8 years old, and 10 for a longer domestic flight. DS could probably manage to fly on his own even now if he absolutely had to.