Children Travelling Alone

Contact Air Canada Reservations or your travel agent to let them know your child will be travelling alone. You will be given details about our special services and what procedures are involved when a child is travelling unaccompanied. Please remember to tell us if your child has a medical condition.

Traveling on connecting flights can feel complex and daunting for some people, and things don’t always go as smoothly as we would like them to. Flight disruptions can arise and so we simply cannot carry out all of the responsibilities needed to transfer a minor through a connecting airport. It may be difficult for unaccompanied minors to navigate through connections, and even more so if a flight disruption occurs at the connection point. We urge parents to ensure their children are well cared for when there are traveling on an itinerary with a connecting flight.

Your child can’t travel unaccompanied if he/she is:

• blind or deaf
• severely allergic to peanuts/peanut products or has other severe allergies
• severely allergic to cats and dogs
• has a medical (physical or psychological) condition (including but not limited to allergies) that requires any special care, or the administration of medication during the flight
• likely to react negatively to air travel without a responsible adult known to him/her

A child with any other medical condition can’t travel as an unaccompanied minor without prior medical approval. We reserve the right to refuse carriage of an unaccompanied minor if medical clearance can’t be obtained. For more information on obtaining medical approval for your child, please contact Air Canada Accessibility Services.

If your child is travelling on an Air Canada flight, the call centre agent handling your child’s reservation will recommend that your child be seated in the last three rows of the aircraft, close to the cabin crew. This seating arrangement will allow members of the cabin crew to keep an eye on your child during the flight, and attend to his/her needs. This recommendation does not apply to Air Canada Express flights.

A service fee of $100 - $118.00* CAD/USD each way per child per flight applies, regardless of the fare you select.

If your child age 8 to 17 is travelling as an unaccompanied minor on a flight offering only Air Canada Bistro service, the price of a meal or hot snack is included in the service fee charged for the special care of your child.

Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages are always available on all our flights. And complimentary meal service is available for all passengers travelling in:

• North America and Caribbean Business Class and International Business Class,
• International Economy Class, except on flights to/from Sun and Caribbean locations (Air Canada Bistro service is available on those flights).

Credit card only cabins

All Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights, as well as Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz have credit card only cabins.

The price of a meal or hot snack is included in the fee charged for the Unaccompanied Minor service. If you’d like for your child to be able to buy an extra meal or snack on the flight but onboard credit card payment is not an option, you can pre-purchase convenient Air Canada Bistro vouchers online at any time up to one (1) hour before your child's flight.

* Fees are inclusive of the minimum (0%) to maximum (18%) tax which may apply, based on your itinerary.

• Carefully explain the details of the trip to your child in advance – this will make the experience less stressful for everyone.
• Make sure your child is well rested.
• Make sure your child has a carry-on bag containing a snack and favourite item(s) in case of a delay.
• Make sure the parent/guardian meeting your child at their destination:
  • Knows the number and arrival time of the flight your child is travelling on.
  • Is aware that he/she will need to present a piece of government-issued photo identification to identify him/herself.
  • Is aware that he/she will be required to sign for the unaccompanied minor envelope (T672-ENV) that contains your child's ID and travels documents, and retrieve it from the Air Canada agent accompanying your child.

When you arrive at the airport, head for the Air Canada counter to begin check-in formalities.

• You will first be asked to provide identification for your child. Only original documents are accepted (no photocopies) 
  • For travel within Canada, children under 18 years of age must present a birth certificate, health card, passport or other government-issued identification.
  • A passport is required for flights to and from the United-States as well as for international flights.
    
    
• You’ll then be asked to complete a "Request for Carriage" form, which is attached to an envelope bearing the letters "UM." The form contains:
  • Your child's identification and flight number,
  • The name(s) and contact information (including phone number and address) of the person(s) who will meet your child at his/her destination
  • The authorizing signature of your child's parent or guardian.

The envelope will remain in the care of an Air Canada agent, and serves as a document holder for your child's passport, airline ticket, emergency numbers, and Customs documentation.

Even after an Air Canada agent has taken your child into their care, you must remain at the airport until the flight has departed.

All children travelling alone are always made to board ahead of the other passengers. This gives your child time to settle in comfortably and ask the flight attendant any questions s/he may have about the flight.

1. The agent will give your child a Unaccompanied Minor lanyard (hang-tag) so that he/she may be easily identified by airport staff as an Unaccompanied Minor.
2. The agent will accompany your child through the security check and proceed to the boarding gate area. In some airports, parents/guardians are permitted to escort their children to the departure gate. Please see the next FAQ for more information, or refer to the local Airport Authority website.
3. Once boarding is announced, your child will be escorted to the aircraft ahead of other passengers and will be greeted by the In-flight Service Director who will guide your child to an assigned seat.
4. Upon arrival at your child's destination, the In-flight Service Director will help your child disembark, and will hand them over to an airport agent. This agent will escort your child to the Arrivals section to meet the person designated on the Unaccompanied Minor envelope.
5. The person meeting your child will be asked for photo identification, and will sign the Unaccompanied Minor envelope, accepting responsibility for the child.

Escorting your child to the boarding gate is allowed at select airports only. Please refer to the local Airport Authority website or see an Air Canada representative at check-in.

• Where permitted, only one parent or guardian may accompany the child to the gate. The parent or guardian may be required to fill out a "Passenger Escort Form," and show photo identification.
• If a parent or guardian is unable to escort the child, Air Canada will provide the escort.

International flights and flights to the U.S. 

Due to security regulations, the passenger escort service is not available for international flights and flights to the U.S. In this case, an Air Canada agent will escort the child to the gate.

You must remain in the airport until the flight has departed.