I'm among the millions of people in this country who have been
through a divorce. It happened nearly 30 years ago when I had two
sons, ages 6 and 3, and it was the darkest time of my life.
If there was any fortunate aspect to the situation, it was that
my boys lived only a few minutes away. I could see them during the
week and have them stay with me on weekends.
For many divorced parents, that's not the case. Their children
are far away. That's one of the major reasons we have so many
unaccompanied minors, as young as 5 years old, flying around the
country every year.
The care of these children is one of the challenges that faces
the travel agents who book them and the airlines that look after
them in transit.
It's not always a simple matter of putting a child on a nonstop
flight and having everything go smoothly. There are connecting
flights that require airline personnel to ensure that a child is
taken safely from one gate to another. There are mechanical and
weather problems that cause delays and might even mean that an
unaccompanied minor could be stranded at an intermediate point.
The airlines have tried to minimize this possibility by refusing
to allow unaccompanied minors to fly on itineraries involving the
last connecting flight of the day.
Nonetheless, a carrier might confront a situation where a child
must be kept overnight in a city without any family members
available. If that should happen, according to a spokesman for one
major airline, the carrier would contact the parent or guardian and
do whatever is necessary to see that the child gets the proper
supervision.
The airlines are charging more now for handling unaccompanied
minors. They used to charge to escort children between connecting
flights. Now most charge for nonstops, too.
In most cases, the one-way fee is $30. One airline said the
additional charge stems from the need to provide more attention to
the rising volume of unaccompanied kids.
The school year is winding down, so once again unaccompanied
kids will become more visible as many of them head to their
noncustodial parents for summer vacations.
The airlines are geared up to handle them. They have provided
clear instructions on their Web sites as to how parents should
prepare for such trips, even down to giving the kids enough reading
matter or other entertainment material to keep them busy on
board.
I was lucky. I didn't have to put my kids on a plane by
themselves. I know the ones who do fly alone are in good hands with
airline people.
But I also wonder how many of the people who put their kids on
planes have the money to fly with them.