DD aged 16 travelling alone

[mrsmootoo]

My DD (16) is flying alone this weekend to stay with her older sister in Berlin for a few days. Someone told me she needs a letter of permission from her parents (us). Is that true? How formal/legal does it have to be? With what info? Thanks!

Ds, now 20, has been flying by himself internationally for the last 6 or 7 years. Check with the airline website. We've never had a problem but I have heard there can be problems, normally with budget airlines. my suspicious nature thinks they like bumping people due to overbooking for spurious reasons.
Regarding content if you were to write a letter, I would think something like, I, Mrsmootoo, and I Mr Mootoo, agree to ms Mootoo junior travelling to xxx place on blah blah blah date on flight number xxx, returning from blah blah airport on flight number xxx.
You could include your passport numbers if you thought it relevant. Include your contact details.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.

She is likely to get challenged by the passport control on arrival as she is under 18, we have had this in Dublin with our DD of the same age- something about stopping unaccompanied minors migration. A short letter with the infor suggested above with a contact point for local arrival will be fine.

I live in Berlin and can confirm that you might well be asked for a letter of the kind Isthis has given. Include everything you can in the way of ID - best of all is if you photocopy your own passports and sign/date them (not a joke, it's how things are done round here). I would also advice you to have a letter in German giving the older sister permission to make decisions on your behalf while she's there - otherwise it might be tricky not just for emergencies, hospital decisions etc, but also for any activities they want to do together. We're having a visit from a 15yo relative next week and his parents will be giving us a letter like this - we already know we're going to need one to take him go-carting.