When Kids Fly Alone. . . . . A Few Tips

There may be instances when you are not able to fly with your children. In those cases you want to do the next best thing in securing their safety while flying. I have listed 5 tips that help to keep your kids safe.

Do your kids ever fly alone? When kids fly alone, you want to be sure that your kids are equipped emotionally for flying. They need to know every friendly person is not necessarily their friend.

kids flying alone

Prayer

First and foremost before they travel you want to have family prayer. Sometimes there are those that do praying afterward and that is backwards. You want to pray before they set foot on the airplane. There may be situations that arise that are out of their control so that is the reason for praying.

Letter of consent

According to the state government, children under the age of 18 flying alone, internationally or even within the states may want to carry a letter of consent along with their passport. Especially if some is to meet them at that airport, their should be instructions in the letter as to whom is to accompany them. There are too many instances of child abduction and trafficking. It bothers me when I see parents just dropping their children at the airport gate and leaving before the plane arrives. Yes I have seen this done. There is too much that can happen.

Awareness

I became more aware of the trafficking after watching the movie “Taken.” These teen-age girls traveling out of the country were so unaware of their surroundings and very unaware that they were being setup for trafficking. Beware of that person that may be just a little too helpful. Their concern was for the beautiful apartment and going to a party which they never even made it too. As soon as they reached their apartment they were taken immediately, then drugged, and auctioned for sale to the highest bidders like they were property.

Electronic Ticketing and Seating

When booking your children's flight, be sure to use electronic ticketing so no paper ticketing is needed and be sure to check in 45 minutes prior to departure of their airplane, according to airconsumer.ost.dot.gov.  Some airlines suggest checking in one hour before departure.  You always want to get a gate pass to accompany your child to the gate and the same is true for the accompanying parent or guardian that will be picking your child up from the airport. They further add to give an itenerary of their flight schedule to the person that is picking your child up from the airport. Remember every airline has their own set of rules regarding children flying and you want to adhere to them. You can request that your child not be seated near someone consuming alcohol and let them know to alert the flight attendant if anyone shows inappropriate behavior towards them.

Gut Instincts

Talk to your children about not giving out personal information to strangers before, during, and after their flight. If they have a bad feeling about someone, trust their gut instincts and stay clear of that person.

Source:

Letter of Consent for Travel of a Minor Child

When Kids Fly Alone

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