Any there any parents that have let kids fly alone internationally?

Question

My ex husband is moving to germany and wants our 12 and 11 year old to fly over by themselves. I am not comfortable at all with this mainly because they each have never been on a plane before much less alone. He is taking my to court over this issue and if anyone has had any problems with this i would love to know.

Answer 1

Sure. Most airlines offer a program known as UM or Unaccompanied Minors, where, for a small fee, the airline will ensure that the children are in their care from the second they get to the airport at their departure city to the second they are met by someone at the destination city. They are kept in a secure, safe room during connections (if there are any) and that they are escorted on and off the plane(s) by the flight crew.

No need to worry, it's extremely safe and families do it all the time.

Answer 2

Yes, i have been flying alone since i was younger than that, to go back home and visit family when my parents were still working. As the person above said, the children can go unaccompanied minor, so they basically have an airport staff (usually a flight attendant) take you through all the passport control type of stuff, and stay with you all the way onto the plane, and then escort you off obviously. I didn't find it too much because i had flown so much with my parents when i was younger, but there is two of them, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Then again, from your question, i think you might be looking for good reasons as to why they should not fly, but i can't help you with that.

Answer 3

No, I've never sent one of my children but I was a Flight Attendant for 13 years on international flights and handled many Unaccompanied Minors. I can assure you that it's safe and they are usually treated very well. I would not hesitate to send my children this way if it were needed.

I think the wishes of the child should be considered too. Perhaps arrange that they fly with you somewhere before embarking on such a long journey for the first time. Is there any way you could

Many of my UM's were children flying between divorced parents and not all were happy about making this journey. One did manage to "escape" (not one of mine) but was quickly scooped up at immigration without his passport and ticket. He was never in any danger but we were all read the Riot Act by our airline telling us how important it is to keep track of them (even with their little tricks; "I need to see my passport" yeah right...) So it's taken very seriously by the airlines.

Telling the court simply that you don't want them to fly alone and/or so far probably wont cut it. You have to come up with something more concrete so talk to your lawyer and/or try to find a compromise.

I do have to warn you that if your husband is German, be very careful. I live near Germany and the Germans can be as unhelpful as some Middle Eastern countries when it comes to recovering "unreturned" children. They decide in just a few months, even if the divorced parent took them illegally, that the children are too "adapted" to German life and therefore it would be damaging to return them to the other country and the parent who was awarded custody. I'm not sure how this would apply if he does not have a EU passport and sure it wouldn't if he'll be a temporary (or military) resident.

As long as your ex is cooperative, Germany is a clean, safe country and poses virturally no threat to your boys. There are no guns around, cars stop quickly for pedistrians, the food is healthy, etc. Germans are very child-oriented too and are well recieved, even spoiled, in stores and restaurants. I've taken my children over there myself many times.

Just as a tip, if your children are American citizens, they need to re-enter the U.S. on a U.S. passport and no other, if they have a second nationality. Start the passport process as soon as possible, if they don't already have theirs' and this could cause delays. The cost should be taken up by your ex.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/min...

Sorry you're stressing over this but it could be a positive experience for them and please remember that they will have each other on the journey. They might pick up on your negativity and either adopt it or think there is a real threat to them by taking this flight. If there is, put a stop to this but if not, hopefully you can find a compromise that sits better with you.

I wrote an article on flying with children a few years ago which I put on a blog to share with other parents. I did include a section on UM's. A lot of it is baby information you can skip but skim to the tips that apply to older kids.

http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com

Good luck and hope it works out either way!