21.04.2004
Is your child able to travel alone?

Søren, 5, is going to visit his father in Newcastle. Neither his mother nor his grandmother has time to fly over with him, and a five-year-old boy cannot be expected to take the train to Esbjerg and from there the ferry across the North Sea on his own. So what should they do?

Fortunately help is available for children who travel alone by air.

Three handling companies offer assistance at Copenhagen Airport. In 2003 the handling company Scandinavian Ground Services (SGS), part of the SAS Group, provided assistance in 17,000 cases of children travelling without adults.

Børns Vilkår advises parents to take certain precautions before they let their children fly on their own.

Responsibility lies with parents

Parents should follow a number of rules of thumb when they decide to let a child travel on his or her own, no matter whether the child will be taking a domestic or an international flight. First of all it is important to find out whether the child is able to manage the journey without his or her mother or father.

Dorthe Korshøj is the coordinator of the Børns Vilkår helpline where children and parents can ask questions about anything - from the upbringing of children to bullying – as well as receive good advice on the subject of letting children travel unaccompanied. She says:

”What is most important for a child to have is the sense of security that can be provided by parents or other adults. When the parents are not going to fly with the child, some other adult must have responsibility for the child so that he or she will have someone to contact if he or she grows afraid or wants to ask questions. Thus it is important to remember to tell the child that it is perfectly okay to feel a bit insecure and worried. If children are not allowed to express their anxiety, they will have a bad time. If you can see that a child is afraid you should never tell him or her that he or she is a big boy or girl who can handle it.”

The child’s maturity is important

Travelling by air may be an easy way to go from one place to another for adults, but it can be tough for a child to travel alone without being able to move about. Not all children are sufficiently mature to travel on their own, so it is up to parents to judge whether their children can travel alone.

”Children must be asked if they feel up to it, but they are unable to say so until they reach a certain age. Children under the age of ten cannot really say whether they are ready to go on their own. Do you think your son or daughter is sufficiently mature and psychologically ready to go on the journey alone? If you cannot honestly answer ‘yes’ to this question you should not let your child travel alone.

You have to ask yourself whether it is your own needs or the child’s needs that are met if you let him or her travel unaccompanied,” says Dorthe Korshøj, who adds that children should generally not be allowed to travel alone for more than four hours. Beyond that is pushing it if the child cannot contact an adult he or she knows and cannot to play and move about.

Dorthe Korshøj says there are a few simple rules that must be followed whenever a child will be travelling alone:

Accompany the child to the gate or all the way to the aircraft. A flight attendant or another person working at the airport may escort the child from the gate to the aircraft.
Don’t forget to inform the cabin crew that there is an unaccompanied child on board. Many airlines require children to be at least five years old to travel unaccompanied.
You cannot promise the child that there will be no problems during the flight, but it is a good idea to explain that the plane is very unlikely to crash if the child asks questions about the probability of a crash. Many children watched the World Trade Center attack on TV, and some of them will be afraid of flying.
The child should bring along something familiar from home and if possible something that will help keep him or her amused during the flight, for example a soft toy, a diary or a walkman.

Help and assistance throughout the process

Airlines have different rules concerning unaccompanied children. The international name for children aged 5-11 travelling on their own is Unaccompanied Minors, and certain international rules apply to them.

According to these rules unaccompanied children in this age group must be escorted to and from the aircraft, and unaccompanied children under the age of five are not permitted at all. The airlines do not judge whether a child is able to manage a journey without adult company as long at the child is at least five years of age: the decision must be made by the child’s parents.

In Copenhagen Airport a parent, relative or acquaintance may escort a child to the gate if he or she has a Passenger Escort Pass, but only a person from one of the airport handling companies can escort the child into the aircraft.

Three companies offer this service at Copenhagen Airport: SGS, Novia and Servisair Danmark A/S. The service must be booked together with the ticket from the airline with which the child will be flying, but if you are already at the airport and have forgotten to book assistance for your child you must go to the airline’s desk at the airport and ask for assistance.

Sterling is one of the airlines that use SGS to escort children at the airport. The price of this service is about DKK 200 for passengers, but not all airlines charge for the service. Sterling offers the service free of charge.

”We are pleased to offer the service because it means that all unaccompanied minors are supervised. We get the name and mobile phone number of the person who brings the child to the airport and of the person who will be collecting the child at the destination airport. A person from our handling company will look after the child at the airport, ensuring that the child does not have to go to the gate alone. The cabin crew will be notified whenever there is an unaccompanied minor on board. We always keep an eye on such minors so that they do not feel insecure. It’s very simple and works very well,” says Sterling’s Gina Chrisodoulou.

17,000 unaccompanied minors

In 2003 SGS handled 17,000 cases of unaccompanied children leaving or arriving at the airport on domestic and international flights. This figure covers children of divorced parents as well as children going on holiday, so one unaccompanied minor may account for more than one operation.

A price of DKK 200 is charged for children who are escorted at the airport. People with disabilities are not charged for any assistance provided. Kjeld Elving of SGS says there is a reason why there is a charge for the service: the children are under constant supervision.

”We only charge for the extra service for children, because the service is highly time- and labour-consuming. The children are not only escorted to and from the aircraft but are also looked after when they are not with their parents. We have designated areas for that very purpose,” says Kjeld Elving.

The child should make the decision

It is thus possible to send off a child safely to a parent who lives in the UK or grandparents in Belgium. However, it is very important to involve the child before the airline ticket is booked. If you are not sure whether your child can handle travelling alone, you can contact the Børns Vilkår helpline for parents on + 45 35 55 55 57 or its helpline for children on +45 35 55 55 55.

There is more information on this website about the service offered at Copenhagen Airport.