Avoid Yet Another Mix-Up: Prepare Your Child to Fly Alone as an Unaccompanied Minor

Within the span of two days, employees assisting two separate Continental flights inadvertently placed children flying alone on the wrong flights. On Saturday, an 8-year-old girl en route to see her father in Charlotte, North Carolina wound up in Fayetteville, Arkansas, instead. The very next day, at a different airport, a ten-year-old girl was mistakenly placed on a plane that flew to Newark, New Jersey, instead of Cleveland, Ohio.

Naturally, these two incidents are gaining a lot of negative press coverage for Continental Airlines. In fact, it might be enough to make you think twice about putting your child on a solo flight this summer.

Before you cancel your child's summer visitation plans, though, consider what you can do to prepare your child to fly alone:

• Teach your child how to talk to strangers. While that may seem like odd advice, it's crucial for children flying alone. It's unrealistic to expect them to speak to no one at all during their flight, or to speak only to flight attendants. Before your child faces the task of flying solo, teach her how to choose a safe person, initiate a conversation, and ask for help. You can practice this together the next time you're at the mall, by asking your child to pick out a safe person to practice on by asking a question, such as "Do you know where the nearest bathroom is?" The more practice she has developing this skill, the easier it will be for her to speak with an unfamiliar adult in the event that she needs help.


• Give your child a piece of paper with her destination clearly written on it. This sounds simplistic, I know. But how many times have you lost the stub to an airline boarding pass? One minute I'm using it as a bookmark, and the next moment it's gone. So instead of expecting your child to remember to hold onto it, write your own copy, using permanent ink (so that it can't get smudged or smeared). Then, pack it with your child's on-board snacks, coloring books, or video games, so that when she sees it, she'll remember to use it to confirm the information with the person sitting next to her on the flight. (Imagine how different these two experiences might have been for the parents if they'd received a phone call about the mistakes while each girl's flight was still in the air.)


• Teach your child to speak to the person in the next seat. This is something else that you have to practice with your kids, because it completely goes against the "Don't talk to strangers" rule we've ingrained into their minds. So be explicit about teaching your child how to introduce herself, and to share just enough information to verify the flight. "I'm going to see my dad in Chicago. This flight is going to Chicago, right?"

These steps are simple, but they're also empowering. Employing them with your children doesn't mean that mistakes won't be made, but it does mean that if your child ever does experience this type of mishap, she'll be more likely to handle it calmly and confidently, knowing that her ability to communicate clearly will help her to get back home safely.

Related Resources:

Guidelines for Children Flying Solo
Two Unaccompanied Girls on Wrong Flights
10-Year-Old En Route to Grandparents Takes a Detour

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