Can a child older than 11 years of age be treated as an Unaccompanied Minor? No. Our Unaccompanied Minor program is only for children ages five through 11 years old. Children 12 and older are allowed to travel independently as Young Travelers.
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The minimum age for children to travel alone as adults paying adult fares varies: Kids have to be 12 years old to fly alone on domestic flights with Hawaiian, Southwest, Air Canada, and WestJet; 13 years old on Alaska; 14 years old to fly as an adult on JetBlue; and 15 years old on Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, ...
Employees may ask for age verification at any point, so please travel with a copy or original form of any government-issued ID, such as a birth certificate or passport for your child. A medical release for travel is required for any infant under 14 days old.
Q: What is the Southwest Family boarding age limit? A: In order to take advantage of Southwest family boarding, you'll need to be traveling with a child who is 6 years old or younger.
Proof of age in the form of a birth certificate or other form of valid identification for the child is required upon check-in at the ticket counter in order to travel as an Unaccompanied Minor.
You'll need to fill out an unaccompanied minor form and any necessary Customs and Immigration documents for the day of departure. This form must remain with your child during their journey. At check-in, parents / guardians will also need to provide: A birth certificate or passport as proof of the child's age.
Accompanied children ages two through 11 may purchase the applicable Child Fare for the flight (does not apply to unaccompanied children ages five through 11). Please contact us via phone at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792) to confirm if a child fare is available for a specific flight.
All children, including infants, must have their own passport or Trusted Traveler Program document for U.S. entry. Carry documents for traveling with minor children. If you are escorting a minor child without the parents, have a letter from both parents indicating that you have permission to travel with the minor.
A minor travel consent form is a legal document, signed by a child's parents and/or legal guardians, giving permission for the child to travel with another adult. Any time a child travels abroad without both parents and/or legal guardians, they need to have this written permission.
Some airlines permit this for kids as young as 12. When a child has reached this minimum age for traveling alone without unaccompanied-minor procedures, the airline does not require evidence of parental permission to travel alone. If the child has a passport, he or she can even travel internationally.
Young people aged 12 to 17 may travel unaccompanied without assistance. At the parents' or guardians' request, these passengers may travel under the care of ground crew and a member of the cabin crew.
Any persons under 18 travelling without their parents or guardian are required to present an international travel permission declaration form signed by their father, mother or guardian at the check-in desks.
Most U.S. airlines will permit children who have reached their fifth birthday to travel unaccompanied. Kids ages 5 through 11 who are flying alone must usually travel pursuant to special “unaccompanied minor” procedures. On some airlines, these procedures are required for unaccompanied children as old as 14.
We consider children ages 12 through 17 traveling alone to be Young Travelers (YTs), not Unaccompanied Minors (UMs). Accordingly, our UM procedures do not apply to travelers ages 12 through 17.
The airline allows children 13 and older to fly by themselves without an accompanying adult. Children 13 and older can also accompany younger children without an adult. Children ages 13 to 17 will need to provide government documentation stating their age.
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requests written consent from both parents or the parent who is not accompanying the minor for minors (those less than 18 years of age) traveling to the U.S. alone or accompanied by only one parent. This written consent must be in English.
Children must usually have the same passport, visa or other international entry documentation required of adults. In addition, certain countries require children leaving that country without both parents or a legal guardian to have a letter of consent, in some cases notarized.
Southwest Airlines reviewsOnline customer reviews tend to agree with Skytrax's assessment. According to the 2022 Airline Quality Rating report, Southwest was ranked as the No.1 airline in 2021 and 2020. In addition, Southwest had the second lowest consumer complaint rate in 2021.