Unaccompanied minor flights: what airlines allow, and when a companion fits better

An unaccompanied minor is a child who flies without a parent or another accompanying adult. The airlines below that carry children alone ask you to book their unaccompanied minor service, charge a fee each way and limit which flights the child may take.

Here are the rules of six airlines side by side, read on their own pages on 27 October 2026, and then the cases where a personal companion who flies with your child is the better answer.

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A little girl with a passport and a suitcase in an airport corridor

The rules of six airlines, checked 27 October 2026

Each entry comes from the airline's own page, linked on the card. Airlines change ages, fees and routes, so check the airline's page before you book. Where a figure could not be read on the airline's page, it is left out.

American Airlines

Ages: Required from 5 to 14. Optional from 15 to 17, and then the fee still applies. A child under 5 cannot travel alone.
Fee: $150 each way plus applicable taxes. It covers additional siblings on the same flight.
Flights and conditions: Ages 5 to 7: nonstop flights only. Ages 8 to 14: nonstop, or connecting through a short list of hub airports. Not allowed: a flight on another airline (codeshare and oneworld partners included), the last flight of the day from the final connection city (unless it is the only flight) and overnight connections. Booked by phone.

Source: aa.com, checked 27 October 2026

Delta

Ages: Required from 5 to 14. Optional from 15 to 17. A child aged 4 or younger may not travel alone.
Fee: $150 each way. It covers up to 4 children travelling together.
Flights and conditions: Ages 5 to 7: some nonstop flights only. Ages 8 to 14: some nonstop and connecting flights. Not on the last connecting flight of the day (unless a market has one flight a day) and not on red-eye flights between 9pm and 5am. Connections only onto Delta, Delta Connection, Air France and KLM flights. International travel is possible, with restrictions by country and by other airlines.

Source: delta.com, checked 27 October 2026

Southwest

Ages: Children aged 5 through 11 can travel as an unaccompanied minor.
Fee: A service charge each way. Southwest lists the amount on a separate charges page, so we do not quote it here.
Flights and conditions: Nonstop flights, or flights that stop without a change of planes. No international flights and no connecting itineraries.

Source: southwest.com, checked 27 October 2026

KLM

Ages: Required from 5 to 14, also when the child sits in a different travel class than the adult. Optional from 15 to 17; without the service the child counts as an adult passenger.
Fee: The adult ticket price plus a surcharge: EUR 100 to 150 on direct flights, EUR 200 to 300 with a transfer. A return ticket pays the fee twice.
Flights and conditions: All direct flights. Transfers only on KLM, Air France and Delta flights. Book at least 24 hours before departure. The person who brings the child must stay at the airport until the flight departs.

Source: klm.com, checked 27 October 2026

Lufthansa

Ages: Ages 5 to 11 may fly alone only with the care service, or with someone aged 12 or over. From 12 to 17 the care service can be booked.
Fee: Per flight segment and per child, siblings included. Examples: EUR 85 within Europe, EUR 125 to the US East Coast, EUR 150 to the US West Coast. Transfers in Vienna cost extra.
Flights and conditions: All direct flights, and connections in Zurich, Geneva, Brussels, Munich, Frankfurt and Vienna. Not bookable online: through the Help Center or a travel agency, at the latest 24 hours before departure. For a flight on another airline, ask that airline.

Source: lufthansa.com, checked 27 October 2026

British Airways

Ages: Children under 14 cannot travel alone: they need someone aged 16 or over on the same or a linked booking. From 14 a young person can travel alone.
Fee: No unaccompanied minor service is described on this page. British Airways says it cannot accept parental responsibility for a young person travelling alone.
Flights and conditions: Ages 14 and 15: a parent or guardian books and pays by contacting British Airways (not online) and signs a consent form; no online check-in; no gate passes at any airport. Partner airlines may have other rules.

Source: britishairways.com, checked 27 October 2026

Also different from airline to airline: the youngest person who counts as an accompanying adult. It is 12 at Lufthansa (for ages 5 to 11), 16 at American Airlines and British Airways, and 18 at KLM.

Where the airline service stops

Connections. Southwest does not take connecting itineraries. American Airlines and Delta keep ages 5 to 7 to nonstop flights. KLM allows transfers only on KLM, Air France and Delta flights. A trip that needs another airline, a late connection or an overnight stop often falls outside the service.
Age limits. American Airlines and Delta do not let a child under 5 fly alone, Southwest stops at 11 and British Airways does not let a child under 14 fly alone. The service is for children, so a parent or grandparent who should not travel alone is not covered by it.
The airport at both ends. The adult who brings the child has to stay until the flight has left (American Airlines, Delta, Southwest, KLM), and the person who collects the child has to show ID (American Airlines, Delta, KLM, Lufthansa). Someone you trust has to be at both airports, on time.
On board. American Airlines writes that its flight attendants “can’t continuously monitor your child during their flight”. The service gets the child onto the plane and off it; it is not a person beside them.

When a personal companion fits better

A companion is one screened person who travels with your child, parent or grandparent from the first minute to the handover. They are the better answer when:

The route does not fit the airline's rules: A connection, a late flight, another airline or a trip between continents. The companion stays with them through every connection.
The traveller is outside the service: Too young for the airline's service, past its age limit, or an older parent or grandparent. We travel with children and with seniors.
A nervous traveller needs a person beside them: Someone sits next to them for the whole journey and sends you a photo at every step, so you always know where they are.
Nobody can be at both airports: The Door-to-Door Concierge goes from their front door to the front door at the other end. Handover happens only to the person you named, after we check their ID.

A companion costs more than an airline fee. If your child's trip fits the airline's rules, a nonstop flight with an adult at each end, the airline's service may be all you need. You get a personal companion from the country you choose; a companion from another country is possible, who may first fly in, with their travel costs added. See also the companion within Europe, within the US and between them.

Before you book, ask the airline how it treats a child who flies with an adult who is not a parent, and which papers the route needs: KLM asks for a consent letter when a child travels without one or both parents, and British Airways points to extra entry rules for a child travelling with an adult who is not their parent.

Choose how far we go with them.

Three packages, fixed prices. In each of them you book and pay the traveller's own ticket.

Airport Escort

KerbGate

One airport · up to 4 hours

We meet them at the kerb and stay with them through check-in and security to the gate. Or the other way round: we wait at the gate and walk them to the arrivals hall.

€390 · $450

per airport

Flight Companion

Departure hallArrivals hall

One way · within Europe or within the US

The companion checks in with them, travels beside them, stays with them through any connection and hands them over in the arrivals hall.

€2,250 · $2,450

plus the companion's ticket at cost

Door-to-Door Concierge

Front doorFront door

Also between continents · overnight stay if needed

From their own front door to the front door at the other end, with an overnight stay when the route needs one. On request, a companion with a care background.

From €4,500 · $4,950

plus travel costs at cost

You book and pay the traveller's own ticket. Connecting flights are fine.

Questions

At what age can a child fly alone?

It depends on the airline. On 27 October 2026, American Airlines, Delta and KLM required their unaccompanied minor service for ages 5 to 14. Southwest accepted ages 5 through 11. Lufthansa required its care service for ages 5 to 11 unless the child flew with someone aged 12 or over. British Airways did not let children under 14 travel alone. Rules change, so check with the airline before you book.

How much does an unaccompanied minor flight cost?

On top of the ticket, on 27 October 2026: American Airlines $150 each way, Delta $150 each way for up to 4 children, KLM EUR 100 to 150 on direct flights and EUR 200 to 300 with a transfer, Lufthansa from EUR 85 per flight segment within Europe. Southwest charges each way and lists the amount on its own page. Fees change, so check the airline's page for today's amount.

Can an unaccompanied minor take a connecting flight?

Sometimes. Southwest does not allow connecting itineraries. American Airlines and Delta allow connections from age 8, not for ages 5 to 7. KLM allows transfers only on KLM, Air France and Delta flights, and Lufthansa only at six hubs. With a Flight Companion, the companion stays with the traveller through every connection.

Is a child who flies with a companion an unaccompanied minor?

Airlines decide this by whether an adult flies with the child. KLM, for example, applies its service to a child travelling without an accompanying adult of 18 years and older. A companion is an adult who travels with the child. Ask the airline how it treats the booking and whether it wants a consent letter: KLM asks for one when a child travels without one or both parents.

Can I choose where the companion comes from?

Yes. You get a personal companion from the country you choose. You can also choose a companion from another country; they may first have to fly in, and their travel costs are added. You see the full price in the plan before you book.

Who pays for the traveller's ticket?

You do: you book and pay the traveller's own ticket. For the Flight Companion we add the companion's ticket at cost; for the Door-to-Door Concierge, the travel costs at cost.

Who can collect the traveller?

Only the person you named in advance, and only after we have checked their ID.

Can you help at short notice?

Say so in your request. We will tell you honestly whether a companion can make it in time.

Request your companion

Tell us who is travelling and where to. We reply by email with the plan and the price for your route.

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