To let Dd fly by herself?

[alwaysflyingoff]

Would you let your 16 year old Dd catch a flight completely by herself if she wanted to? Short flight but still worried

DD should be fine.

If you're worried about anything, speak with the airline who will tell you what you need to do and will keep an eye on her.

My daughter flew alone at 16. We took her to the airport and she had to cross the city by herself to meet the rest of her party.

The flight was the least stressful part of the trip - catching/changing the bus at the other end was scary.

Of course. Flying alone is probably safer than just about any other form of transport.

Yes I was flying alone from age 8 as do loads of DC

Yep, my cousin flew from Europe to London to stay with me unaccompanied at the age of 14. I met him at the airport. As far as I remember (he is 25 now!) he didn't need any documents for the border control but you will need to check with the airport to be sure.

At 16 it depends on the country if they are classed as a child. Even in the UK countries it varies as to what age is classed as a child.

Double check the country she is entering for their rules. Some are completely fine for 16 year olds to come and go. Others may need a letter of consent just to be sure.

Most airlines allow 16 year olds to fly unaccompanied that part would be fine.

I had a 17 year old fly to France for a month of walking and biking - he was first of three friends to arrive - so arrived by himself, transferred, found the place they had hired etc. He did three weeks of 'play' and 10 days of work on a cycling event before flying home. It was a place we had been as a family before.

His brother then flew at 16.9(!) years old to meet him a couple of summers later in Switzerland - as the eldest at now 19 was driving around Europe in his own converted van with bike in for 8 weeks+. They travelled together and had a great time.

Mine are sensible lads, really focussed on bikes and mountains, and even though they like a beer and a few nights out seem really mature about things. And yes I do know some gory details of nights out I need to not think about - but I also know that they spend weeks riding mountains and living life to the full.

One is about to graduate and head to Canada for a few years work and riding, one currently in Australia on a gap year, having got on a plane the week after his 18th birthday.

Age to me is not the issue - their character and sense of judgement, 'streetwise' if you will, and the purpose of their visit is more the issue. Planes and airports are safe. When you leave the airport, that is when they need their wits about them.

My DD has been to Berlin on return flights by herself at 14. She has also been to Texas/Russia/Berlin/Austria/Barcelona and a few others as part of a group with her own age. There isnt much difference to getting on a bus. Make sure she is confident enough to ask if she is unsure of anything and its pretty much like getting herded on a bus.

Now that my DD is so well travelled we rely on her now to make any travel arrangement. We got our hire car locked in an underground carpark in Austria once. Within 5 mins she had us on a train and a 5min walk back to our apartment. Life skills.

Yes of course. She's 16, not 6

I first flew on my own at the age of 7! Of course it was a different world etc. My mam put me on one on end, I wore a special lanyard, and my auntie met me at the other end.

At 16 I wouldn't bat an eye.

Us, my daughter flew to Canada by herself from the UK at age 15, and was met at the other end. Make sure obviously she has a fully charged mobile phone, plus a charged battery pack and rehearse all the things that could possibly go wrong, such as "what would you do if....." etc. Find my friend on Iphones is useful for peace of mind, or another tracking app like Life 360.

I flew to Cyprus many years ago by myself, now with facetime and experience I wouldn't hesitate to send (nearly adult) dc on a plane independently if someone was waiting at the far end. Just ensure they get on the plane and know to ask someone if they're stuck. Easy.

In the UK a 16 year old needs to be in education. They also can't legally buy alcohol or drive or vote. They are children. Might be different in other countries where arranged teen marriages are common.

@Tessasanderson Fully agree with this. We allow DD (19) to plan our holidays now and have done for quite a few years. We completely follow her lead with regards to public transport etc - she’s fabulous at it. Life skills for sure!

Eh?

It's the airline that dictates if they will carry a child/minor, they'll be well-versed on the law in the countries they visit. Many airlines carry very small children with/without supervision

I just couldn't.

Imagine if there was severe turbulence or worse. Or the kid is sat next to some creep. So no, I personally couldn't.

Yes, my DD was flying unaccompanied from 15 ( think it was easyJet at the time letting them go from that age) we travel a lot and have close family overseas, so I knew that she was competent and confident navigating security /passport control / getting to her gate etc.

So do you let your 16 year old travel alone on buses snd trains? Because statistically they are far less safe than air flight.

I seriously can't believe that people don't let teenagers travel unaccompanied.

I first flew unaccompanied at age 7 (1 hour & internal flight) - how times have changed! This was about 1981 though, and I’d not put my 8yo on a flight unaccompanied these days even if you could.

There's risks with everything they do. At 16 I'd expect a teen to be able to do a fairly long and complex journey by bus / train / tube. I don't see how flying is different.

How do you think kids get to boarding school from outside the uk?

Yes, my 16 year old has travelled across the country by coach, id much prefer to stick him on a plane, much more controlled environment!

Of course it's OK!

All that could happen on a bus and it's much safer to fly from a crash/accident point of view. With a plane at least they have easy access to flight attendants that could help if anything happened with a creep beside them vs a bus or a train.