Is it necessary to send children to another city to rest with their grandmother, and parents are not allowed to leave work? Or does my daughter need to fly to England to go to college? Or maybe the child urgently needs to be sent for treatment in Israel?
No problems! Now, most airlines around the world have such a service as transporting unaccompanied children by relatives.
For the trip to be successful, you need to know the rules for escorting children on an airplane.
Who can use the service?
The service "Accompanying a child on an airplane" is necessarily provided to children 5-12 years old, at the request of it you can order teens up to 16-18 years old (depending on the company).
How to get a service?
The service "Accompanying a child on an airplane" is ordered only by parents or guardians.
It is recommended to do this no later than 36 hours before the flight, as a certain number of seats are allocated in the airliner for unaccompanied children.
The service "Accompanying children on an airplane" is not offered by all carriers. This must be clarified before buying tickets.
When buying or booking a ticket, you must immediately inform that the child will fly unaccompanied.
It is advisable to choose direct flights, without transfers.
Children are not accepted for transportation if you need to move to another airport at the transfer point.
Service cost
The service "Accompanying a child on an airplane" is provided for a fee.
The cost depends on the following points:
- Places for the purchase of air tickets.
- Type of flight (domestic or international).
- Flight range.
- The age of a minor passenger.
You can read about the cost of the service on the airline’s website.
Ticket price for the escort service ordered
The ticket price for an unaccompanied child is 100% of the adult fare (discounts are not provided), and you must buy it in advance.
What documents are needed?
The exact set of documents depends on whether this flight is domestic or abroad. You may need:
- Birth certificate.
- International passport.
- Ticket.
- Consent from both parents for the trip of children under 18 years of age accompanied by a representative of the airline with the country and dates indicated (signed by a notary).
- Insurance policy.
- Visa.
- A prescription with an extract from the history of the disease if the child has medications with him.
At the airport of departure
Registration on board unaccompanied children is carried out only at the airport terminal, so you need to arrive in advance.
Children must be accompanied by one of the parents or another “own” adult representative. The accompanying person should have documents with a photo confirming his identity.
An adult registers a child for a flight, fills in special documents: a statement and a cover sheet.
The statement shall contain all the necessary information (selectively, depending on whether it is a flight - domestic or international):
- Name of the child.
- Age.
- The language the child speaks.
- Country of Residence.
- Name, address and telephone number of the representative sending the child.
- Route.
- Departure day.
- Flight number.
- Name, address and telephone number of the representative meeting the child.
The cover sheet contains information about the representative of the airline and the stewardess - that is, those who will accompany the child.
When flying unaccompanied children, baggage is accepted in accordance with applicable standards. A special label should be attached to it, on which the contact information is indicated.
It is advisable that the child takes a minimum of things with him to the salon.
Children are given a special bag with documents and the inscription "Unaccompanied child" and explained that it should not be lost, you should always carry it with you.
Set of documents:
- Ticket.
- Boarding pass.
- Baggage receipt.
- Application for escort service.
- Accompanying sheet.
- Birth certificate.
- International passport.
At the airport, parents transfer their children to the airline representative indicated on the cover sheet. This employee passes all checks with each child. Then he escorts him to the plane and hands on hand to the flight attendant indicated on the cover sheet.
Parents must be at the airport terminal before departure.
During the flight
The child is put on the plane first, before boarding the rest of the passengers, in a convenient and safe place.
During the entire flight, stewardesses constantly take care of the children, who undergo special training, where they are taught the rules for communicating with children and how to solve all their problems.
Flight attendants accompany them to the toilet, answer all questions and even entertain (the airline usually gives each child a play set).
At the airport of arrival
After landing, the child is the last to leave the plane, and the flight attendant transfers it to the airline employee at the destination airport.
If the flight is a transfer, then a company representative accompanies the children before entering the airliner. While a transplant is expected, they will be offered soft drinks, juices, tea (the escort services already paid for when ordering).
The child is under the supervision of a representative until a meeting person arrives who is indicated in the application (he must have a document confirming his identity with him), even if this person is late.
If he never arrived at the airport, then the airline will call his parents and do as they say (deliver the escorted child to the specified address or send him home on the next flight). In this case, you will have to pay additional costs.
Accompanying a child. Aeroflot
- The service "Accompanying children on an airplane" is provided only on your own flight.
- It is available to children from five to twelve years of age, optionally - and adolescents to sixteen years of age.
- The service of escorting a child on an Aeroflot plane is paid: its price is 40 euros one way.
- When ordering a service, the ticket price is 100% of the fare, without a discount.
- When buying and booking a ticket, you must inform that the child is flying alone.
- To receive the service, fill out a special application and application for support.
- The mourning person remains at the airport terminal until the departure of the airliner.
- Sheremetyevo Airport at Terminal D has rooms for unaccompanied children, which are open 24 hours a day. Here the child can play on the computer and watch animated films, waiting for boarding the flight.
- A child who needs special. food due to medical conditions or other reasons, you can order it for free when you purchase a ticket, but no later than a day and a half before the flight.
- While a transplant is expected, the children will be offered a refreshing drink, juices, tea (if the transplant time is up to 3 hours) and hot food (with a transplant up to 6 hours). All this is paid when ordering escort services if transfers are provided (respectively, 5 and 20 euros).
What do those who have used such a service as escorting children on Aeroflot aircraft think? The reviews of people who used this service are overwhelmingly positive, expressing gratitude to the airline staff for their attentive attitude to the child.
It is very convenient that a bag (or file) with documents is hung on the neck of the children, where each representative of the company in the accompanying sheet notes: from whom he received the child, to whom he transferred.
They note that often a young traveler from an economy class is even transplanted into a business.
Accompanying a child on an Aeroflot airplane is organized so that small passengers feel comfortable. During the entire flight, stewardesses constantly come up to the children, asking if they want to drink or go to the toilet, are they cold, does something hurt. If a child is bored, read a book or tell stories.
The company usually gives children gifts, for example, a tin case with crayons, stickers, coloring books, etc., which allows children to engage in an exciting game - and the flight time flies by!
It is widely known that the incident in 2012, when two brothers of nine and five years old flew unaccompanied from Moscow to New York. In flight, the eldest of them had a very bad stomach, temperature rose - there was a suspicion of acute appendicitis. An unexpected emergency landing was made in Reykjavik. Flight attendant Mikhail accompanied both brothers to the hospital, where the sick boy was carefully examined. Fortunately, nothing happened. The guys, accompanied by Michael, arrived in New York, where they were met by a tearful, but smiling mother.
Sometimes people write that stewardesses do not pay attention to young travelers throughout the flight, putting their work on passengers sitting nearby. But there are very few such negative reviews.
Escort of children on an S7 airplane (Siberia)
According to the agreement with Siberia Airlines OJSC:
- You can order an escort service for children 5-12 years old, and optionally for teenagers under 16 years of age.
- Only parents or guardians can buy the service and a ticket directly at the company's sales office or at the airport ticket office, filling out and signing a commitment statement.
- For international transportation, you need the consent of both parents (guardians) to travel the child (signed by a notary).
- The service "Accompanying a child on an airplane" is allowed on their own direct flights, as well as on flights operated jointly with the Globus company.
- Ticket price - 100% of the fare, no discount.
- The child is allocated a comfortable and safe place on the plane.
- Baggage is carried free of charge according to weight standards.
Escort of children on the plane "Russia"
This airline is one of the subsidiaries of the aviation holding - Aeroflot Group.
- The service "Accompanying children on an airplane" is available only on your own flight.
- It is available to children from five to twelve years of age, optionally - and adolescents to sixteen years of age.
- The child escort service on the plane is paid. You can find out the cost at the office or on the company's website.
- When ordering a service, the ticket price is 100% of the fare, without a discount.
- When buying and booking a ticket, you must inform that the child is flying alone.
- To receive the service, fill out a special application and application for support.
- The mourning person remains at the airport terminal until the departure of the airliner.
- While a transplant is expected, children will be offered a refreshing drink, juice, tea or hot food (depending on the time spent at the airport). All this is paid when ordering an escort service, if transfers are provided.