How to send a child alone on a plane
A demanding work schedule, home renovations, and other parental duties are no reason to deprive a child of a vacation. You can send your child to grandma's for some pampering or to a camp even without adult supervision. In this article, we will tell you what documents are required for an unaccompanied flight, what the difference is between flights within Russia and abroad, which children cannot be sent on a flight alone, and also who and how will look after them on the plane.
Can a child be sent alone on a plane?
Of course, yes. But only if they are older than two years old, and preferably five to seven. Although officially flights are only prohibited for children under two years old, in practice, airlines refuse to take unaccompanied children younger than five years old on board. Therefore, before choosing an airline, first find out their “age limit.” Some airlines, including low-cost carriers, simply do not offer such a service.
Almost always, a ticket for a child traveling alone will have to be purchased offline. That is, at the airline's ticket offices or at the airline's counter at the airport. There, they will tell you which dates have tickets available for young passengers. There is a rule for flights: no more than four children traveling alone on one flight. If there is a passenger with a disability or an unaccompanied incapacitated child on the plane, the permissible number of other children will decrease.
Airlines also do not offer discounts for unaccompanied young passengers.
Online check-in for such child passengers is not possible.
Rules for children's flights within Russia
They must have a birth certificate or a Russian passport (for children over 14 years old).
At the check-in counter or in advance when purchasing a ticket, parents must fill out an application form and a “Declaration of Responsibility,” which includes their contact information, as well as the contact information of the adult meeting the child. Six copies are required: for the parents, for the departure airport, for the flight attendant, for the person responsible for on-board service, for the airline employee at the departure point, for the airport employee at the arrival point, and for the child themselves.
You also need to have a certificate of change of surname for one of the parents (if applicable) and a medical certificate if the child has serious illnesses.
By the way, any adult, not necessarily a parent, can see off and meet a child on domestic flights.
Rules for children's flights abroad
However, for international flights, only the mother and father, or an adult for whom the parents have issued a notarized power of attorney, can see off and hand over the child to an airline employee.
Keep in mind: if the flight involves a layover and consists of flights from different airlines, a child under 12 years old will not be allowed on it. And transit flights are completely prohibited for children.
The necessary documents include a foreign passport and visa (if required), a birth certificate, a notarized consent from both parents, an application form and “Declaration of Responsibility” signed by the parents, a document regarding a parent's surname change (if applicable), a medical certificate for health issues (if it's a serious illness). And if the child is leaving the country for more than three months, consent from guardianship authorities will also be required.
What is the unaccompanied minor service and how much does it cost?
The escort service will be needed for parents of children under 12 years old. It's mandatory!
Its full name is: “Organization of transportation of an unaccompanied child under the supervision of the carrier.” It guarantees that an airline representative and airport staff will be responsible for your child at the departure airport, during the flight, and at the arrival airport. The corresponding service request is processed at the ticket purchase stage.
When you arrive at the airport and approach the check-in counter, an airline employee will call a colleague. This colleague, along with the child, will go through passport control without queuing, hand over the passenger to the senior flight attendant near the boarding area, who will then seat the child on the plane. During the flight, the flight attendant is obliged to consider the child's requests and show care.
Upon arrival, the flight attendant goes to an airport employee. This employee escorts the child through passport control, finds the meeting person, checks their documents, and verifies if their identity matches the one specified by the parents in the form.
If the meeting person is delayed, the airport employee waits with the child. If the adult meeting the child does not arrive, the employee is obliged to inform the parents and ask what to do next. For example, take the child to the specified address or send them back. Handing over the child to adults in this case is a must.
The guarantee that your child will not be left alone in a strange city or country is provided by the “Declaration of Responsibility”:
“In the event that the child is not met at the destination airport, I authorize the company to take actions necessary to ensure safety, up to and including sending them back to the original point of departure, with reimbursement of expenses associated with such actions.”
Some airlines require an additional payment for the escort service. For example, with “Aeroflot,” it costs 40 euros for international flights and 3400 rubles for domestic flights, while with “Pobeda,” it is 3000 rubles one way.
How to send a child without accompaniment, when a child can fly alone
It's possible. Just not mandatory. At the parents' discretion, the escort service can be arranged for children up to 16 years old (at the ticket booking stage). As before, for booking and purchasing tickets for a child traveling alone, you need to contact an offline sales office. All documents, including notarized consent from parents, their application form, “Declaration of Responsibility,” birth certificate, certificate of parent's surname change, passports, and visa will be checked at passport control. However, an unaccompanied teenager will already be standing in line with all other passengers.
