Letting your child fly alone – its a great opportunity for them!

Last updated on May 21st, 2026 at 07:12 am

You may have read a few stories about ‘disasters’ happening when someone lets a child fly alone, but most usually its just fine and something not to worry about.

Yes I personally had my children flying alone, internationally, from the age of four.
Yes I’m a mother who encourages independence, but I also love my kids and want them to be safe. But I knew my kids would be fine with all the airline provisions in place.

However, twice the airlines involved did forget to put my child on a connecting flight! But in both cases they dealt with it just fine and in both cases my child arrived safely – although a little delayed! However, these incidences are not common and if my child had been flying direct in each case there would have been no issue!

Sometimes they get spoiled which is fun for them too. Once one of my daughters felt sick on the plane. The air steward took her up front to the pilot. The pilot then entertained her with the views and controls and things in the cockpit, and origami making – a lot of it! (She came back with a bag full of origami animals.) She forgot that she was feeling ill!

Key things to know when letting your child fly alone – as an unaccompanied minor

Airlines only take children (usually under 14 or 16 year olds) as unaccompanied minors. This means they take responsibility for your child from the parent or person dropping them off at the check in counter, until they are handed over to, and signed for, by the parent or person picking them up at the other end of the flight.

So there is not much to worry about. However these are the things to keep in mind before you take your unaccompanied minor to the airport.

1. Choose your airline carefully

Choose a good airline – especially if flying international. Make sure they let a child fly alone and have an unaccompanied minor policy. Google for this.

Book directly with the airline itself. Don’t try and use third party sites that link flights on different airlines. It’s not going to work!

2. Know the rules!

These are some of the rules that Qantas has for booking flights for children flying alone (I’m using Qantas as an example, because they are a good airline and I have used them with my children flying alone internationally):

“Qantas does not accept unaccompanied minor bookings for:

• Connecting flights to/from another airline.
• Children who require medication but are unable to self-administer or do not have a supporting letter from their doctor.
• Qantas codeshare and other airline flights.
• Flights that include an overnight stopover
• The last flight of the day except where only one flight operates daily.
• Connecting flights with a transit of more than 4 hours.”

3. Choose non-stop flights if you can

There’s not too much that can go wrong with a direct flight – no connections to miss anyway.

3. Book an unaccompanied minor ahead – and you generally pay a small fee

Book ahead so the airline has time to ensure they have an escort for your child. Don’t turn up at the airport with a child under 16 and expect them to take the child. They may – but they may not. If they do let your child go, the price is usually higher if you arrive at the airport without booking for an unaccompanied minor. Do make sure you book ahead.

Fees will vary airline to airline, but for example, Qantas charge $90 for international travel, and $55 for domestic travel.

4. Read the details of the unaccompanied minor policy – especially wait times at the airport

An important rule to note is that you must arrive at the airport XX time before your child’s flight, and, stay until xx time after your child’s flight departs. This is in case the plane is delayed or has to return to the airport shortly after take off, due to weather or some other emergency. Check what the rule is for your airline.

5. Age makes a difference

There is often a lower age limit for different flight times.
For example I could not fly my children from NZ or Australia to Europe alone until they were 8. Before that, from 4-7 years, I could fly them between Australia and New Zealand as the flights are only 3-4 hours long.

Read the rules on the airlines website. Call them if you have any questions or something is not clear.

Key things to prepare your child for their flight

You also need to make sure things are as well prepared for your child as possible. There will be less stress for everyone.

1. Make sure your child knows what will happen when they fly alone

If they haven’t flown before, they need to know the general process. Even if they are experienced flyers, they need to know the process as an unaccompanied minor.

Really it is just telling them they will be taken by a steward when you say goodbye, and will board the plane first, and get off last. They also need to wait for the steward at the end of the flight to come and take them off the plane.

2. Have a safe carry bag for your child’s important documents – particularly their passport and boarding pass

Make sure they know how important the documents are and have a place to put them. Most airlines have a bag they put your child’s documents in anyway – but have one just in case….

3. Think carefully about what goes in their carry on luggage

How much they carry will depend on the length of the flight, but make sure they have something to do on the plane. And pack some snacks – even though they should get some on the plane its nice to have their own.

Make sure there is a safe place in the luggage for their document bag. For more details on what to carry in hand luggage read What to take in your hand luggage on a flight – especially long haul! 

4. Get to the airport in plenty of time if your child is flying alone

Make sure you arrive with plenty of time before your child’s flight. There’s nothing worse than a last minute rush and panic at the airport – especially for your child. There is usually a time you are required to check your child in by if they are flying alone.

5. Make sure your child knows they can ask for help or for something they need

Talk to your child about asking the air stewards for help or for something they need. If your child is shy, perhaps talk to them about it with the steward so they feel comfortable to ask for things on the flight.

Here’s to happy Flying!

With all these things in place your child should have an uneventful flight and arrive safely at their destination. Please do leave a comment if you think I have left anything out or you have a good suggestion or experience to share.

Happy flying!

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