Airlines can cater for children traveling on their own.
Air travel can be stressful enough for adults, particularly considering the enhanced security rules imposed by airlines and airports. This trauma is likely to be magnified for minors.
However, learning the air travel requirements that have to be followed by children in Hawaii can ease the stress, both for the minors and their parents or guardians.
Identification
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advises on minors traveling by air.
Within the United States, minors under the age of 18 do not have to present identification for domestic air travel. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advises that since each airline has its own rules covering identification requirements for children, it's worth checking with your airline beforehand. For the most part, carriers accept identification from the responsible adult on the behalf of a child passenger.
For international flights coming into Hawaii, all passengers, including babies and children, are required to have their own passports.
Unaccompanied Minors
Airline rules for unaccompanied minors vary.
The FAA does not regulate the travel of unaccompanied minors (UMs) on planes; instead, individual airlines have their own rules and regulations in place.
As of October 2010, Delta and Southwest airlines allow children as young as 5 to fly as UMs, while the upper limit for this classification ranges from 12 to 16 years of age. All children flying as UMs must be checked in at the airport gate by an airline representative, while at the other end, the passenger must be picked up by the person named on the UM booking form.
It's also worth considering that most airlines serving Hawaii charge an extra fee for UMs, while some may require child passengers to be checked in further in advance than their fellow passengers. It makes sense to do your homework before booking a journey.
Other Rules
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has rules covering unaccompanied minors.
Children travelling within Hawaii or to the state from the U.S. mainland with just one parent, or with friends or other family members, are required to carry a statement signed by the absent parent or parents, as per rules laid out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Similarly, should you be traveling with a child for whom you have been granted sole legal custody, airlines may often require you to show all relevant paperwork attesting to this.
Security
Airports require children to pass through security gates just like adults.
As with the rest of the United States, all flights to, from and within Hawaii are subject to security rules set out by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As such, parents can take breast milk, baby formula and all necessary medications onboard a plane in volumes in excess of 3.4 ounces, though they must be inspected beforehand.
Additionally, all child-related equipment, such as diaper bags, toys, strollers and booster seats must also be X-rayed, while children and infants of all ages must pass through airport metal detectors.
Tickets
Rules on tickets for children vary between different airlines.
The rules concerning whether or not a child requires his own seat on a plane vary from airline to airline. For example, several carriers serving Hawaii from the mainland United States, including Delta and American Airlines, require that all children over 2 years old have their own seats, and as such, parents must buy an extra ticket. Children under 2 are generally permitted to sit on a parent's lap, though an airline may bar these passengers from occupying the spaces closest to a plane's emergency exits.
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