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Unaccompanied minors

Planning Travel for Unaccompanied Minors 

If you’re planning a trip for your child that includes flying solo, here are the guidelines and special services we provide to ensure their journey is safe and happy.

 

Unaccompanied minors are children above the age of five and below the age of 12 on the date of travel. This applies to both domestic and international routes. Children under five are not permitted to travel without a guardian. 

Age policy for travel between India and Gulf countries  

For the United Arab Emirates (UAE), children aged between 5-18 are regarded as Unaccompanied Minors (UM). For other Gulf countries, children aged between 5-16 are regarded as Unaccompanied Minors (UM). If two or more children are travelling, one aged between 5-12 and another between 12-18 years, the child below 12 years must be booked as an unaccompanied minor.

We need advance notice and information about the adults who will meet our team at the departure and arrival airports to provide this service. 

What parents and guardians need to remember 

  • Print and complete a request for carriage of an unaccompanied minor. Bring four copies of the form to the nearest Air India office at least three working days before the travel date. 
  • The child must be escorted to the airport and met on arrival by the parent or guardian mentioned on the form. The parent or the guardian must carry their original photo identification, per the details mentioned in the relevant form. 
  • The parent or guardian must ensure the child has all the relevant forms and documents to travel alone. Check-in must be completed at least two hours before your child’s flight. 
  • A valid photo ID for both the unaccompanied minor and the parent/guardian is required at the point of check-in.

Our dedicated customer service teams work to ensure that your child is taken good care of during the entire journey:

  • They will be escorted through all the departure airport processes and seated in the aircraft, where our cabin crew will keep a close eye.
  • To ensure that the unaccompanied minor has a comfortable flight, we request the parent/guardian to pack all necessary items, including medication, warm clothing, and a favourite toy in the hand baggage.
  • On arrival, we escort minors to the arrivals exit, including through immigration and customs for international journeys. The child will be assisted through all the arrival airport processes and handed over to the authorized individual specified in the UM form. 

Please note that unaccompanied minors will not be booked to sit in emergency exit rows. 

Unaccompanied minor services are provided for flights operated by Air India. Travel on itineraries involving other airlines is not permitted for unaccompanied minors. 

Minor passengers travelling in a different class or cabin, though accompanied by the parent on the same flight, are to be treated at par with an unaccompanied minor. The requisite procedures applicable for travel of unaccompanied minor are to be adhered to. The only variation will be the handing over/taking over of the UM shall be at the entry of the aircraft, before boarding and after completion of disembarkation of passengers.

If your child has an onward connection

  • The parent/guardian must complete the signed form copies at the point of check-in at each departure airport before travel.
  • The parent/guardian is advised to report to the airport of departure and arrival sufficiently in advance to ensure that required formalities are completed by the airline well in time.

Minors travelling to the UK

For the safety and welfare of every child, passengers under the age of 18, travelling without a parent or legal guardian, must arrive with written consent as per the UK Border Force. If the child is travelling alone to the UK, a consent form must be signed by both parents.

For most recent and additional information visit https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor/if-youre-under-18

Minors travelling from the UK

If you are travelling with a child from the United Kingdom, you must get the permission of everyone with parental responsibility for the child or from a court of law before taking the minor abroad. You must carry the consent form, carry a valid photo identification proof (passport or driving license) of both the parents and the birth certificate of the child.

You can also email the consent form with the valid photo identification proof of both the parents and the birth certificate of the child to aitraffic.lhr@airindia.com at least 4 hours before the schedule departure of your flight.  

For more details, refer to https://www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad