Flight Delays Ground Minors Traveling Alone
Children can end up stranded because of more flight delays and cancellations.
Aug. 7, 2007 — -- Airlines had the worst on-time arrival performance of the last 13 years during the first half of 2007, according to a new government report.
And while delays were surely a hassle for adults, children traveling alone sometimes ended up stranded. The airlines don't release records on solo child fliers, but one estimate says at least a million kids travel alone annually.
Parents pay extra money for children to travel alone and airlines provide chaperones. But some kids still get stranded.
Imagine the fear that gripped Lauri Waldherr, of Washington state, when she got a call that her 10-year-old son Drew was lost somewhere at the Atlanta airport.
"I just wanted to reach through the phone and say, 'Where is my son?'"
Waldherr had paid for an airline chaperone, but said the chaperone never showed. So, Drew didn't know what to do when the plane made a scheduled stop.
"In retrospect, he knows he shouldn't have gotten off the plane. But he's 10," she said. "He's hungry. He has to go to the bathroom. And nobody's there giving him any directions."
Beth Harpaz, travel editor for The Associated Press, said her son got stranded on the way to camp. His first flight was delayed, making him miss his connection. Because of the risk of getting stuck overnight, kids aren't allowed to travel alone on the last flight of the day.
"I just went into mother rage mode," she said. "When you're flying kids as unaccompanied minors, you want to start as early in the day as possible because if planes are delayed or you miss connecting flights you want to have as many opportunities as you can to rebook them."
Airline policies vary. Most allow kids as young as 5 to travel alone as long as they have an airline escort. Teens age 15 and older typically can travel without an escort. Extra airline fees for unaccompanied minors range from zero to $99.
"Different airlines have different policies for different ages," Harpaz said. "Some will allow a 13-year-old to fly alone. Some will allow a 12-year-old to fly alone. You need to check with the individual airlines."
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