At what age can you fly with a child on an airplane?

Traveling by plane is the safest way to cover a distance of several thousand kilometers. Many travelers choose this type of transport due to the opportunity to get to foreign resorts within a short period of time. However, many married couples refuse to travel abroad, fearing the difficulties of air travel with small children. In our article, we propose to consider the question of at what age you can fly with newborn children.

Flying on an airplane with a baby is a test for both the child and his parents

Age restrictions

There are two options for a child traveling alone by plane:

• completely independent flight (a minor is treated as an adult passenger);
• under the supervision of air carrier employees (both on board and at the airport).

The procedure for air transportation of passengers, incl. minors without parents on the territory of the Russian Federation are regulated by Federal Air Transportation Regulations No. 82 of 2007. The main condition for flying accompanied by company employees is the age of the passenger, which, according to this document, should not be less than 2 years. Upon reaching 12 years of age, a child can do without staff supervision. But in practice, each company decides on the basis of its own internal regulations. In addition, in the case of international flights, it is necessary to take into account the rules in force in other countries.

Typically, the child accompanying service is provided by the carrier for passengers at least 5 years old. In most cases, younger children are not allowed to fly unaccompanied by an adult passenger. Accompanying a child is usually required if he is under 15 years of age. In this case, parents must order the appropriate service in advance and complete the necessary documents. Older teenagers can fly alone, but they are usually accompanied until they are 16-17 years old. Aeroflot and British Airways allow children to fly independently from the age of 12; Delta, KLM from the age of 14; the presence of parents may only be required to check in for the flight (when flying abroad).

Note! In the case of a flight with transfers, special attention is paid to the question of at what age can you fly on an airplane without the presence of parents. Until the age of 8, a child can be accompanied by staff only on direct flights. Transfers when flying without parents are allowed only at an older age. Thus, children 5-7 years old are allowed to make connecting flights only with their parents or other accompanying persons (not representatives of the air carrier). Children and teenagers who fly on their own can change planes without the supervision of airline employees.

First solo flight

One way or another, it is necessary to clarify the conditions of each specific organization, which are always present on the official websites. Useful information can be gleaned from passenger reviews on the Internet. Allowing a child to fly alone, without an accompanying adult, is not the responsibility of carriers; any of them has the right to establish their own rules and restrictions. In particular, many low-cost airlines (WizzAir, Ryanair), with the exception of Pobeda, do not provide the service of accompanying children (either at the airport or on planes). If you plan to send your child alone, you will have to choose another airline or fly with him. Sometimes minors can fly without parents only if there are no transfers, which means there is no need to organize supervision at the connecting airport. Or children may be prohibited from flying on the same night flights or abroad.

Necessary items and medicines for flying with a child

• Required documents;
• Drinking water;
• Extra diapers, wet, dry and antibacterial wipes, towel;
• A set with a change of clothes and replacement socks, in case the baby wants to walk around the cabin;
• For a nursing mother, breast wipes may come in handy. Take a spare jacket on board. You will need it if the milk suddenly leaks;
• For children on artificial or mixed feeding and babies who are already receiving complementary foods, take artificial formula or ready-made baby purees (porridge, dairy products, etc.) and a thermos with boiling water;
• Take with you food that the baby is already accustomed to and enjoys eating, so that he can calmly and happily eat on the plane without whims; To make it comfortable to carry things and always have them with you, use a backpack or shoulder bag;
• Instead of a stroller, it is more comfortable to use a sling or a kangaroo. They are convenient when traveling and walking, when feeding during a trip;
• Toys and other entertainment, as well as the thing with which the baby is used to falling asleep;
• A pacifier, if necessary, teethers on a chain, for older children - a travel pillow. When teething, you can also take baby anesthetic gels, which will relieve pain and inflammation and calm the baby;
• Lollipops and chewing candies, if necessary, nasal drops, eye or ear drops, colic remedies - for small infants;
• Bandage or gauze, cotton pads, adhesive plaster;
• Antipyretic, antiallergic and antiemetic drugs. Smecta will help with stomach upsets, and activated charcoal will help with poisoning;
• In your first aid kit, it is recommended to take wound healing and treatment products, cough and sore throat medications, sunscreen and insect bite repellents. But it is not necessary to take such drugs on board; it is better to check the first aid kit in your baggage. Take only what you need in your hand luggage.

How is support carried out?

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The child's parents or other accompanying adults are responsible for the child's arrival at the airport and check-in for the flight. You will also need to issue an accompanying document with a representative of the carrier, which details all the details of the flight. Together with other papers, it will be transferred with the child at all stages. Only after that the young passenger can be sent with an appropriate employee who will accompany him until he boards the plane: he will go through hand luggage control, passport control, escort him to the boarding gate, if necessary, take him to the toilet, etc. Then the child is received by a flight attendant who will look after him on the plane: bring water or warm up food (if it was prepared at home), monitor his well-being, simply pay attention and calm him down, for example, during turbulence. She is responsible for it until it lands at the destination airport and is handed over to the airline's local ground representative. If there is a transfer, he will look after the client in the transfer area until boarding the connecting flight, where one of the flight attendants will take over.

Each carrier organizes the provision of the service in its own way, in particular, in those entrusted to it, children are first escorted to boarding and then parents are informed about the departure. And after landing, the accompanied children are escorted to the airport building as a priority. In case of a transfer, when the wait in the transit zone is more than 3 hours, Pobeda employees order lunch in advance for accompanying children.

Personalized service for children flying without parents

If there is no other flight planned, the accompanying employee will help the child go through document control, get baggage and will stay with him until the meeting with the receiving party. If the greeter has problems, the employee will continue to look after the young passenger in the waiting room. If unforeseen circumstances of any kind arise, the carrier's representatives coordinate their actions with the parents of the minor and coordinate them with the receiving party. If it is not possible to hand over the child to those meeting at the airport, he can be delivered to the agreed address or sent to the departure airport. At all stages, a package of relevant documents is sent along with the child.

Assistance to passengers with children during flights

Well-known companies provide various types of additional services for their passengers flying with children. For an infant under two years old, a cradle is provided if it was agreed upon in advance when booking the ticket. The passenger should be aware that the number of cradles is limited; they can be used on wide-body aircraft that fly long distances. Airlines do not allow the use of their bassinets.

A comprehensive entertainment program is provided for children. They can watch cartoons, films, listen to audiobooks, songs. If the plane travels for more than three hours, then the flight attendants bring baby food at any time. Some companies can provide entertainment play sets - puzzles, mosaics, coloring books, board games.

Buying a ticket

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So, the trip is planned, the airline is selected, and it is found out whether it is possible to arrange for the child to be accompanied by its employees. Now you need to complete the documents.

Important! To purchase an air ticket and order the service of accompanying a minor, it is better to contact directly the air carrier’s office, a ticket sales point, or at least a travel agency. In other words, it is important that the sale is carried out by a qualified employee who can additionally advise parents on the specifics of the service and competently fill out a reservation with a request for support. Then, if the company responds positively, he will competently complete the purchase procedure or interrupt it if the service is refused.

Children from 5 years old can fly independently

In any case, you need to make sure whether you can use the escort service for a particular flight. The fact is that on the 1st flight the crew can provide care for a limited number of children. Therefore, it is better to purchase a ticket in advance: this will give you a better chance of getting consent to accompany your child. When ordering a ticket with an escort service, you will need to indicate the age of the young passenger and fill out a standard form (for children under 13 years of age), which details the route and details of the party who is meeting you (last name, first name, patronymic, contact phone number , address).

So, the rules for transporting children by plane

The best place to start, in my opinion, is by studying official documents.

These are the “Air Code of the Russian Federation” and the General Rules for the carriage of passengers and baggage by air.

We will be mainly interested in Chapter 15 of the Air Code “Air Transportation” and the General Rules of Transportation in the part that covers the conditions for transporting children by plane.

In practice, carriers are guided not only by the basic provisions of the General Rules, but may establish conditions that are slightly different from the generally accepted ones.

The main thing here is not to deteriorate the level of passenger service and all innovations should not contradict basic requirements.

What documents need to be prepared

Since traveling alone for a child is still an unusual situation, additional paperwork will be required. They are designed to legitimize such movement of the passenger and record the main details of the escort, if required. Documents required in this situation include:

1. an application from the parents for the carrier to provide accompanying persons (usually there is a standard form posted on the company’s website, it indicates various details of the child, as well as information about the receiving party: full name, passport details, contact phone numbers, addresses of all possible people meeting, if not known, who exactly will come to the airport);
2. an accompanying document (it contains the details of all the carrier’s employees who will be responsible for the child during the trip, and is drawn up directly at the airport before departure);
3. consent of both parents of the child to cross the border (when independently flying abroad to the Russian Federation under the age of 18, it is drawn up and certified by a notary, contains information about the country to which he can fly and the length of stay).

When filling out, all data must be carefully checked with the documents. If inaccuracies are made, the accompaniment may be refused or the process of handing over the child may be interrupted. In addition to the above papers, you will need, as for regular flights, an air ticket, a passenger identification card (passport or birth certificate for flights within Russia) and a visa of the country of destination or transfer (if necessary).

Young travelers are accompanied into the airport building

At what age, according to the law of the Russian Federation, can a child fly alone on airplanes?

From the age of 14, a child is allowed to go through ticket registration and baggage check-in alone, then special control and, accordingly, fly by plane throughout the entire territory of the Russian Federation, and also travel by rail.

Those. Is it possible for a child of 14 YEARS OLD WITH HIS PASSPORT TO TRAVEL without parents and accompanying persons in Russia: is it possible to send him alone by plane, for example, from Irkutsk to Moscow, and then by train to another city in Russia?

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Procedure at the airport when accompanied

Some necessary documents need to be completed with airline employees, so it is better to arrive at the airport with plenty of time. For the same reason, the child cannot arrive alone; one of the parents or another adult authorized to accompany him must be present with him. He is also required to carry a photo ID. After drawing up the accompanying document and application (if it was not prepared in advance), the child is handed over to the responsible representative of the carrier. In this case, parents have the right to ask him to provide an identification document and confirmation of authority. Once the child has been handed over to the responsible officer, the adult who previously accompanied him must remain at the airport until the plane takes off. The meeting party at the point of arrival will be able to pick up the minor from the carrier’s representative only upon presentation of his/her identity card, also with a photograph.

Little traveler's luggage

If a child has to fly independently, even under the supervision of flight attendants, it is important to properly prepare items for hand luggage. Even if the flight is short, it is better to play it safe and anticipate the occurrence of various situations. This will make the journey more relaxing for both the young passenger and the aircraft staff. It is worth paying attention to the following items:

• , , , (the air in the aircraft cabin is usually dry), etc.;
• wet wipes so you can wash your hands at any time and have a snack;
• lollipops - for takeoff and landing (not all companies distribute them);
• things for entertainment: a book, a tablet with cartoons or games, a favorite toy;
• drinks – you can purchase them after checking your hand luggage or stock up on an empty bottle that the flight attendant can fill with water;
• food - starting from small things to snack on (sweets, nuts, cookies, washed fruits, etc.), and ending with a full lunch, which the flight attendant will heat up on the plane.

Flying without parents is permitted under certain conditions

The child will probably be excited and happy about being on board without parents, but at the moment of turbulence or a sharp change in pressure, he may begin to worry or become afraid. Then a successfully captured toy, favorite cookie or cartoon will play a role - they will allow the child to be distracted and calm down faster.

Additional Information. One of the main services for small air passengers is a special menu. But it is not provided in all cases, and children may have individual food preferences, so a lunch taken from home can be very helpful. Also, the child is usually allocated one of the safer and more comfortable seats, not in the emergency exit row. If it is necessary to keep a young passenger under supervision, he is often placed in the front rows, in full view of the flight attendants. Some companies are developing targeted programs that make a child feel like a VIP client (Junior Jet).

What to do if your baby gets motion sickness

If your daughter or son is prone to motion sickness in transport, then they may feel unwell during the flight. To prevent such an unpleasant situation, you should stock up on special tablets against motion sickness in babies in advance. Such drugs must be given before the start of the flight, and not at the moment when the baby begins to complain of feeling unwell.

If the baby does get seasick, then to alleviate his condition, you can give him a slice of lemon or offer him to drink small sips of water.

It is generally accepted that the vestibular apparatus in children under one year of age is designed in such a way that situations with motion sickness occur very rarely. After a year, this feature of the child’s body is gradually lost. But no matter how good a child’s tolerance to such stress is, it’s worth taking a couple of small towels and hygiene bags on the road.

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Thus, flying without parents is a very feasible solution if adults cannot accompany a minor. In the case of teenagers, the situation is quite simple - they can fly alone, they only need written permission from the adults in charge when traveling abroad. For younger children, in most cases you can use an escort from the carrier. Additional documents will need to be completed, but in this case the child will also be supervised. Carefully thought out accompanying procedures make this travel option reliable and safe, and also affordable. And the child gets an incomparable and exciting experience of independent travel.