In many situations, a person under the age of 18 may need to travel without an adult. The airlines refer to these travelers as unaccompanied minors, and in most situations require a fee for the service of ensuring the child arrives safely at their destination and is only released into the custody of the designated party.

Your first step should be to determine if any airlines fly non-stop to the child’s destination. This is one instance where you do not want to save money by changing planes, as it will increase the chances that the minor will misconnect. Next, look at each prospective airline’s web site for policies and fees for unaccompanied minors, as they can vary dramatically from airline to airline. Some airlines have different ages where they permit a minor to travel unaccompanied. There should be both a minimum age, as well as a maximum age for which a fee is required. Between their maximum age and 18 years old, the service and the fee will be optional. In that situation, it is up to the parent or guardian to determine if their child is mature enough to travel independently. The fees themselves can differ substantially from one airline to another, so it is import to consider this factor in the overall cost of the ticket.

When purchasing the ticket, you can make the reservation online in order to avoid any telephone booking fees. Avoid booking a child on the last flight of the day, as it’s cancellation will necessitate the child remains overnight. Many airlines actually forbid unaccompanied minors from being booking on the last connecting flight of that day. After the ticket is purchased, you can contact the airline to pay for the unaccompanied minor fee.

When properly researched and planned, purchasing a ticket for an unaccompanied minor is not much more difficult than any other ticket.