With many children flying alone to visit family and friends over the February half-term holidays, Airport Parking & Hotels (APH) has created a guide comparing airline policies for 'unaccompanied minors' to help families plan ahead. The research can be found in the Know Before You Go section of the APH website at www.aph.com/unaccompaniedchildren.   

The research compares the policies of 18 airlines, including British Airways, easyJet, and Virgin Atlantic for children flying unaccompanied, any special assistance provided and any additional costs incurred to the customer.

The age permitted for children to fly unsupervised varies between airlines, with seven airlines that include bmi, British Airways and Emirates only allowing children aged 12 or over to travel unaccompanied and without special assistance. Three airlines, easyJet, Jet2 and Thomson Airways, only permit children aged 14 or over to travel unaccompanied and without special assistance. Four airlines, Aer Lingus, Monarch, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic extend this policy further and only permit children aged 16 or over to travel unaccompanied without special assistance.

However, 12 airlines offer continuous supervision for any children flying without a parent or guardian including Air France, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

The cost varies between airlines with fees ranging from £18 for the Kids Solo service on a domestic flight with Air France to £100 for the Unaccompanied Minor Service with American Airlines. Unaccompanied children flying with Emirates, KLM and Virgin Atlantic should also note that Unaccompanied Minors will be charged the price of an adult's fare.

After checking-in an unaccompanied child, eight of the airlines researched required a parent or guardian to remain in the airport until the child's flight was airborne with flybe also requesting the parent or guardian to remain in the airport 15 minutes after the flight has departed. Children flying unaccompanied with Qantas must have a named custodian aged at least 18 or a sibling aged at least 15 available by telephone at all times whilst the child is in the care of Qantas. All airlines researched also require formal photo ID from the parent or guardian collecting a child from the airport.

When it comes to specific requests, any unaccompanied child with medical conditions should declare their conditions when booking their seat. Travellers should note that if a child is severely allergic to peanuts or cats they will not be permitted to fly unaccompanied with Air Canada. Children flying under supervision of Air Canada staff may not travel with a pet in the cabin and when travelling in Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class, unaccompanied children cannot use the Upper Class lounge or the limousine service.

To ensure unaccompanied children's safety, Delta Air Lines provides unaccompanied minors with a barcode-trackable wristband, which is scanned throughout their journey. Likewise, Air Canada provides a lanyard for children and Lufthansa provides a yellow shoulder bag in which all travel documents should be kept.

For further information on Airport Parking and Hotels (APH),
Visit www.aph.com or call 01342 859515. 

ENDS

About Airport Parking and Hotels (APH)
Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) is an award winning airport parking operator and retailer, after winning the Best Airport Parking Company for a sixth year running at British Travel Awards 2015. This year APH also celebrated its 35th year as a retailer and operator of pre-booked airport parking and travel extras. APH offers parking at all major UK airports as well as airport hotels and airport lounges. APH is also a carbon balanced company and has, through support of the World Land Trust, helped purchase more than 1,000 acres of endangered rainforest.

Whether you're taking golf-clubs, a snowboard, a bike or a baby seat on holiday, finding out which regulations you have to adhere to can be a headache. To help cut through all the mouse-clicking, Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) has created an online baggage allowance finder which is easy-to-use and regularly updated with the latest information. The tool can be accessed at: http://www.aph.com/community/baggage-allowances/.  

Media Enquiries
Fiona Anderson / Lauren Hill / McCluskey International / 020 8747 2170 / aph@mccluskey.co.uk