While Boivin, of MAC, is satisfied with this system, he wonders: How does it work with other airlines serving Minneapolis-St. A new SkyPro smartphone app used by Delta flight attendants is equipped with Google Translate and shows where unaccompanied minors are sitting on the aircraft. #Delta unaccompanied minor codeThe airline charges an additional $150 each way for the service, beyond the price of an adult ticket.ĭelta provides kids with wristbands with a bar code that is scanned during the trip, and a special Sky Zone room at MSP is equipped with games and treats for layovers. If the flight has a connection - common at MSP - uniformed employees ensure the child makes it to the appropriate gate. “I believe the recent incidents we have seen with issues surrounding unaccompanied minors on airlines suggests the needs to re-examine this vacuum.”ĭelta allows children ages 5 to 14 to fly as unaccompanied minors - it’s optional for those 15 to 17.Ī parent or responsible adult accompanies the child to and from the gate. “There are no federal aviation regulations dealing with the carriage, transportation or care of unaccompanied minors on airlines,” he said. Sometimes, children are fed and stay in a hotel while supervised by a Frontier rep until their flight arrangements are worked out, he said.Īirline regulations for unaccompanied minors are a hodgepodge of rules with no uniform standards, said Alan Armstrong, an Atlanta-based aviation attorney. Their parents were panic-stricken, according to media reports.īut Frontier spokesman Jonathan Freed said that if something unexpected happens to a flight, airline representatives attend to traveling children, and parents are apprised of their status. The flight diverted to Atlanta because of severe weather, and the children were taken to a hotel by a Frontier employee. “She did not understand where she was, the passenger that translated for her showed her on a map where were.”ĭelta spokeswoman Lisa Hanna said she had “not heard of this particular child.”Ī second incident in July drew national media attention and involved two unaccompanied children, ages 9 and 7, flying from Des Moines to Orlando on Frontier Airlines. #Delta unaccompanied minor mac“She did not speak English and was crying, but thankfully, a passenger on board was able to translate for her and help her feel comfortable,” MAC Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben wrote in an e-mail. She was reportedly separated from her parents who arrived illegally at the southern border, and was being reunited with family on the West Coast. This came after a story circulated about a traumatized 8-year-old child who was flying on Delta from New York to California in June, connecting through MSP. The MAC, which owns and operates the airport, recently asked Delta representatives for a briefing on the airline’s rules for unaccompanied children. “It’s the ultimate customer service issue, taking care of our kids.” “It’s an ongoing discussion,” said MAC Chairman Daniel Boivin. Other airlines do, too.īut recent media reports detailing traumatized or waylaid youngsters flying on various airlines here and elsewhere have prompted the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) to begin a new, and distinct, conversation: Should the airport do more to tend to these kids? The Atlanta-based airline has a checklist of procedures in place to ensure that the children, known in industry parlance as “unaccompanied minors,” are safe while traversing the skies solo. Paul International Airport last year on Delta Air Lines, the airport’s dominant carrier. Nearly 16,000 youngsters without their parents or a supervising adult traveled through the Minneapolis-St.
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