Community Chat

[RoughDraft]

Apparently, the story is true.  It was the boy's first flight alone and he was described as high functioning.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/mother-of-autistic-boy-who-flew-alone-receives-touching-note-from-her-...

[Sage04]

I think the Mom meant that no family member accompanied him, so he was in the care of the Flight Attendant. Those FA take very good care of the kids. They are also usually given a pin to wear on their clothes so that  any FA on the flight can identify them. Sometimes it´s less expensive to send a child as an unaccompanied minor than buying a ticket for someone else.

Also, you have to go through security (with a pass) to hand over the child to the FA and you have to wait until the plane takes off before you can leave, incase the flight is cancelled or if there is a problem.

If there are more than one unaccompanied minor on the flight, they usually sit together.

[StephfromIdaho]

I love this story.  

[Starpolisher]

I think it's wonderful that the man sitting next to the boy was a good person and looked out for him. The boy and mom were very lucky! That being said, I don't  think any child should be put on a flight alone! Especially one with special needs. My sons didn't  have any special needs and I would have never, ever done this with them...NEVER! One of the parents (or someone they trust) should have flow with the child. I don't care what the circumstance. Single mother or not! IMO, this is just irresponsible. A 14 year old was just put on the wrong flight in Newark on Sunday. This child was only 7. In both cases, I  think they are too young to fly alone!

Caring, responsible parents shouldn't  need a government agency or anyone else to tell them this!

[RoughDraft]

U.S. Department of Transportation regulations for children flying unaccompanied.

[1Snickers]

     Unfortunately it seems that lately there are more accidents with air travel.

     Planes sit on runways for hours (happened with my granddaughter and her husband and baby). There was no air conditioning. 

     I would be concerned about a child traveling alone even through the teen years. They may be forced to make quick decisions in case of an accident or altercation on the plane, or in the airport. 

     I worry when my 12 year old granddaughter disappears in a store and she’s two counters over. AND she’s not a special needs child!

[luvzchiz]

@SahmIam Exactly what I thought.  Seriously, this could have ended so badly.  

[FrostyBabe1]

Per the US Department of Transportation, there are no U.S. government regulations concerning airline travel by unaccompanied minors. Each airline has it's own policy, and while they're similar, there can be some minor variations. 

https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/Kids_Fly_Alone.pdf

[september]

The vast majority of minors safely travel on flights all over the US, every day. In most cases, we wouldn’t even know who they are...we might see kids sitting apart from other adults on flights, but assume their family members are on that flight.  Not always the case.  

Many people in my family have traveled alone. They do so with the knowledge of the flight attendants, and an extra charge is involved that ensures they’re looked after 

[Anonymous032819]

The last time that I flew, was several years ago, and it was from Las Vegas to Sacramento, on SouthWest Airlines.

My seatmate was an unaccompanied boy of about 10 - 12 years. 

My point is, kids fly unaccompanied every single day, we just don't hear about it.

There could be economic reasons why the parent doesn't fly with the child.

There could be that the parent cannot take the time off from work.

But the visitation order still has to be followed.