Children travelling alone
If your child is about to embark on an adventure without you, here’s everything you need to know to help make sure it goes smoothly.
Minimum age to travel alone
We allow young persons aged 14 or older to travel alone with us on domestic or international British Airways flights.
Children under 14 years old cannot travel alone with us. They must be accompanied by someone aged 16 or over on the same or a linked booking to travel with us.
We’re unable to accept parental responsibility for young persons travelling alone. Young travellers need to be able to make their own way through departure and arrival airports and travel on their flight(s) without a chaperone.
Our partner airlines may have other regulations, age limits and charges, so please check their policies directly. Our partner SUN-AIR of Scandinavia has a different policy, detailed below.
Booking and preparing to travel
Young persons aged 14 or 15 years old travelling alone will be booked to travel as an adult. To book their ticket, please contact us as you’re unable to book this online.
Before arriving at the airport, please ensure you’ve completed and packed the following:
- A British Airways Young Flyers Travelling Alone Consent Form (pdf, 78kb, English only), completed and signed by a parent/guardian.
- A copy of photographic identification of the parent/guardian who completed the form showing their signature, such as passport or driving licence.
- Any required travel documentation, such as valid passport(s), visas and proof of return travel. Check what they need for their destination.
These three documents must always remain in the child’s possession while travelling.
Your child should also carry with them at all times:
- Any required medication and/or health certificates.
- Payment method for any expenses, which works abroad.
- A mobile phone to communicate with their parent or guardian, and the person they are meeting at their destination. Phones and devices should be fully charged, with sufficient credit and international roaming activated for foreign travel.
It can help to look at the airport terminal maps with your child before arriving at the airport so they’re familiar with their journey.
At the airport
Arrive at least two hours before the scheduled departure time of your child’s flight. Young persons aged 14 or 15 years old travelling alone cannot check in online. Please go with your child to the check-in kiosk and speak to one of our agents.
You can accompany your child up to the security gate. Anyone not flying with us is unable to go past this point, because we cannot offer gate passes at any of our airports. Airport colleagues will be able to tell you the latest time your child can stay with you before they need to go through security and onto their departure gate.
Some airports do offer paid assistance to help customers to their boarding gate. Please visit the airport’s website for more information.
Regularly check departure boards for gate and time information, and ensure that your child knows how to find their way to their correct departure gate for boarding.
We recommended that you wait until their flight takes off before leaving the terminal and inform the adult collecting them at their destination that they're en route.
Disruption
In the unfortunate event of a long flight delay or cancellation, our Consent Form details the process we follow in order to make contact with the adults listed to arrange collection of your child.
Should an overnight stay be required due to a missed connection or diversion, please be aware that many taxis and hotels won’t allow young travellers to use their services unless they are accompanied by an adult.
Please remind your child not to leave the airport unless:
- they are accompanied by a uniformed team member of our ground staff or police officer; and
- they have contacted their parent or guardian.
Please tell your child to speak to a team member if they have questions or need help.
Young persons travelling alone on SUN-AIR flights
SUN-AIR, our partner airline, allows young children between the ages of five and 11 years to travel without a parent or legal guardian provided you contact the airline in advance. Children over the age of 12 can travel unaccompanied on SUN-AIR operated flights, although young flyers between 12-16 years can use the SUN-AIR Unaccompanied Minor service on request.
You’ll need to book and pay for the SUN-AIR Unaccompanied Minor service in advance. You can’t book this service online, so please contact SUN-AIR for more information and to make your booking.