15 year old travelling to Spain alone

[confusedofengland]

DS1, 15 (December baby) took part in an exchange programme organised by his school last year, to Madrid. He & his exchange partner got on very well with each other & with the respective families & message every day still.

They would like to visit each other again, staying with families. Both sets of parents are happy to do this. Is this possible? What would we need to do? Would he be subject to the recent money rule? He is British with current valid British passport only.

I will also email the Spanish Consulate (I think?), but just wondered if anybody had any idea about this.

Don't see what the issue is? My DS flew alone to the US at 15 to meet a friend, including transferring at Denver. The friend's brother met him at the airport with no issues.

I think it depends on the airline? Some allow under 16s to travel unaccompanied, some don't.

BA is 14 plus.

Different airlines have different rules. Some minimum age for lone travel is 14, some 15. You have to supply details of who is meeting the child on the other side when you buy the tickets I think?! It wasn't complicated, my DC flew alone age 14-16.

Calling the Spanish consulate is just ridiculous

You're overthinking this far too much

DC travel alone all the time

I was flying alone age 8 with loads of other unaccompanied minors

Back then you just got on the plane arrived and got off again in the other side without any issues

Unless you have some kind of SEN then you're going to be fine age 15

It's no different to getting on and off a bus

Surely he can manage a bus

If you let him that is

Definitely check with the airline what their rules are.

You all seem to have missed the point about the Spanish authorities minimum cash reserves of about £97 per day for the trip. However, my understanding is that you only have to prove it if asked to do so. As your son would be a guest of a family, he won’t be needing to pay for accommodation, or much in the way of food, they may (if they even ask him) accept he is staying with a family.

My son flew to Spain last summer, and twice the summer before and wasn’t asked. I have flown multiple times and not been asked,

You all seem to have missed the point about the Spanish authorities minimum cash reserves of about £97 per day for the trip

Because it's been blown out of all proportion by the gutter press and makes no practical difference to 99.9% of people flying to Spain.

Strictly his hosts will need to complete a form confirming that he's staying with them for a holiday and is not planning on staying in Spain for more than 90 days, working or claiming benefits. But almost certainly no-one will ask to see it or require him to have £97 a day available to enter the country.

All the OP needs to check is that the flight is booked with an airline that allows unaccompanied minors.

Plus make sure he's met at the other end or given information about what public transport to get.

Thank you all for the replies. He is indeed very competent & I did similar to France at age 14. However, Brexit has happened since then & I wasn't sure if rules had therefore changed so I wanted to ask advice. We don't want him to arrive at the airport & not be allowed to fly. I feel some replies were a little harsh maybe 🤔

It’s the airline that makes the rules. You might have to sign something to say you’ll stay in the airport until the plane takes off ( they don’t want have to care for an UM if flight is cancelled last minute) and give the name of who will collect your ds.

It’ll be easier than you expect. Airlines are used to coping with UMs.

He should be absolutely fine. Most airlines will allow travel once they're 14, but do check. Many years ago, I organized a similar trip for one of my students and he had to go with easyJet not Ryanair because easyJet would allow him at that age, and Ryanair wouldn't.

If he's travelling as an official unaccompanied minor, there is more paperwork to do (someone has to check him in personally (though presumably you'd be there anyway) and he has to be literally accompanied by airline staff all the way to the gate and on board. (I organize unaccompanied minor paperwork for some of our students, and all the airlines we've used charge a supplement for this as well)

Hope he has a lovely time!

And @confusedofengland ignore certain comments.

I've started to scroll by one particular poster the last couple of days. Let them keep barking into the void.

Getting a flight to another country is a bit different to getting on a bus.

My DS flew alone to France a few times unaccompanied at 15.

We gave him a letter signed by both parents saying we were allowing him to travel, his flights and dates, who he would be staying with in France and their contact details. He showed this at passport control both ways and had no bother.

Can't comment on the requirement for Spain to have funds - could you transfer the amount temporarily into his bank account for the duration of the trip then back out again?

The host family will need to provide him with a letter of invitation, confirming that they will be providing his accommodation.

He may not be asked for it, but I would bet that Spanish immigration officials are more likely to ask an unaccompanied minor than an obvious tourist family.

I should add that twice in the last 18 months I and travelling companions, dll adults, have been asked at European airports where we would be staying, though we didn't have to show written proof.

Thank you. I will definitely write a letter from both DH & me as well as getting one from the host mum. Good idea to reserve some money for the purpose, which is not to be spent. Will also check which airline rules are which. He is very excited about the idea & we are keen to encourage any friendship, but especially this one with its lovely international links.

Gov.uk travel advice to Spain Unaccompanied minors.Spanish law considers anyone under 18 to be a minor. If an unaccompanied minor comes to the attention of the Spanish authorities (particularly in connection with criminal incidents or when in hospital) they will be considered vulnerable and may be taken to a minors centre until a parent or guardian is found.

My daughters flew to Spain and to France respectively solo aged 14 and 5. It has to be BA, the budget airlines won't let them. They also had a photocopy of my passport with a letter stating I was happy for them to travel, my contact details and the contact details of the people they were staying with. Neither were asked for it until they were coming back into UK!! Nobody asked about money. They had almost no cash, just money on their hyperjar accounts.

confusedofengland - I was wondering if your child has made the trip to Spain already ? My dd (15) is due to go to Spain on an exchange in 3 weeks time and we are wondering what evidence we need to give her for where she will be staying etc.

They won’t let an under 16 fly without an over 16. Looked into this last summer possibly BA but they didn’t seem keen.

This is BA's page on 14 and 15 year olds flying alone. (Applies to BA flights only, partner airlines may have different rules.)

https://www.britishairways.com/content/information/travel-assistance/children-travelling-alone

I think you've all missed the point here. He's 15 and not 5. He should be organising this for himself and finding out what the rules are.

At his age, my friend and I cycled across Holland. We organised all travel arrangements, over night accommodation in youth hostels, planned our budget, what spares we would need, and worked to save up the required funds.

No, the point was (this is an old thread that's been bumped) that some airlines won't accept teenagers under certain ages.
Whether or not said teenagers (and their parents) are happy with them travelling alone was never the point.
It was about him being allowed to by the airlines.