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Tips for Children Traveling Alone

Southwest Airlines is dedicated to making flying an exciting and enjoyable experience for the younger traveler. The following hints are designed to help make a child's journey fun, safe, and memorable.

Unaccompanied Children:

Southwest strives to provide the best possible service to our younger travelers. For this reason, we have special policies and requirements for children under age 12 who are traveling without an accompanying adult.

   Unaccompanied children between the ages of five and eleven will be accepted for travel on Southwest Airlines provided the child has a confirmed reservation and the flight on which he/she travels does not require a change of aircraft or flight number. Proof of age may be required, so be sure to bring the child's birth certificate or other valid identification that shows the child's date of birth.

   Children under the age of five will not be accepted on Southwest Airlines flights unless they are accompanied by a Customer twelve years of age or older.

   Children who are at least 12 years of age travel under the same policies and terms as adults.

   Southwest Airlines will be unable to transport an unaccompanied child under age 12 on a flight anticipated to terminate short of or bypass the child's destination due to weather or other operational situations.

Making Reservations:

   When making reservations for a child between the ages of five and eleven who will be traveling unaccompanied, identify the child to the Reservations Agent as an "Unaccompanied Minor" and provide the child's age.

   Make the child's reservation on a nonstop flight or other flight that does not require a change of planes. Southwest will not transport Unaccompanied Minors on connecting flights and does not interline (exchange passengers, tickets, and/or baggage) with other airlines.

   Once your child's reservation has been made, be sure to provide all flight information to the person who will be meeting your child at his/her destination. Remember, some cities are served by more than one airport, so make sure the flight information you have is complete.

Ticketing:

   Tickets may be purchased at any Southwest airport ticket counter or through your local travel agent. A Southwest Customer may purchase Ticketless Travel over the telephone through Southwest Reservations if paying by major credit card. A Southwest Customer may also purchase a ticket over the telephone and receive it by mail if paying by major credit card at least 14 business days prior to travel.

   Southwest Airlines accepts the following major credit cards: Access, American Express, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, NOVUS Card, EnRoute, MasterCard, Optima, VISA, EUROCARD and Universal Air Travel Card (UATP).

   If paying by check, you must present a valid driver's license, passport, or state-issued i.d. card for identification.

   Upon receipt of your child's ticket, check to make sure it has the correct originating city (beginning city of the journey) and destination (ending city).

   Be sure to familiarize your child with the ticket and have him/her keep it in a safe place. Upon departure, the child will need to retain the ticket for the return flight or as a receipt. Southwest Airlines does not replace lost tickets.

Preparing for Travel:

   Traveling alone can be an exciting and fun adventure for a child. To ease anxieties before your child's first flight alone, take him/her on a visit to the airport. Show your child the areas where he/she can have questions answered or receive assistance. Your child should become familiar with uniformed airport personnel.

   Be sure to explain to your child that he/she should NEVER LEAVE THE AIRPORT ALONE OR WITH A STRANGER. If the child is in need of assistance, he/she should be instructed to go ONLY to uniformed Southwest Airlines personnel or airport police. Be sure your child knows that in the event of an emergency, he/she should not wait in line.

   When traveling unaccompanied, your child should carry identification and a small amount of cash for emergencies. Southwest Airlines will assist the child in contacting individuals named on the "SWA Club" form shown in this brochure, but having change for phone calls and other incidentals is recommended.

   Provide entertainment for the child to enjoy during travel. Books, small games, and the like often help to make the child more comfortable. Earphone-style cassette players may be used; however, radios may not be operated during flight.

   Southwest Airlines does not serve meals on its flights. Complimentary soft drinks and juices are served on all flights, and nuts or other snack items are available on selected flights. If your child has special dietary needs or is traveling on a very long flight, you may wish to pack a special snack for him/her to enjoy.

   Airline passengers may now carry only one bag plus one smaller, personal-type item onboard the airplane.

   Make sure you have all the information necessary to complete the "SWA Club" form. You will be required to complete this form upon checking your child in for his/her flight.

   Be sure to find out EXACTLY who will be meeting your child upon arrival at his/her destination. You will be required to provide the name of this person to Southwest upon checkin for your child's flight. Upon arrival, your child will be released ONLY to this specific person. IDENTIFICATION WILL BE REQUIRED.

Checking In:

   ALWAYS ARRIVE AT THE AIRPORT AT LEAST 45 MINUTES TO ONE HOUR PRIOR TO YOUR CHILD'S FLIGHT. This allows ample time to check any luggage, complete required paperwork, clear security screening, and receive your child's boarding pass.

   Upon bringing your child to the airport, you are required to stay with the child until he/she is boarded and to remain in the departure gate area until the flight has departed.

   Purchase tickets and check any luggage at the "main lobby" ticket counter. After this has been done, proceed immediately to the departure gate to obtain your child's boarding pass for his/her flight. If you have already purchased your child's ticket and he/she has no luggage to check, you may bypass the ticket counter and proceed directly to the departure gate to obtain your child's boarding pass. YOUR CHILD MUST HAVE A BOARDING PASS TO BOARD THE AIRCRAFT.

   When checking luggage, make sure that the luggage claim ticket and luggage tag match your child's final destination (ending city of the journey). Show your child how the luggage claim tickets match the tags on the luggage and that the final destination is on these tags.

   When checking your child in for his/her flight, be sure to identify your child to the Agent as an "Unaccompanied Minor." You will be given a "SWA Club" form (as shown below) to complete. Make sure that the flight information matches that shown on your child's ticket and that the airport and correct flight number are specified. Also make sure that the name and telephone numbers (including area codes) are given for the person who will be meeting your child. REMEMBER, ALL ITEMS ON THE "SWA CLUB" FORM MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE YOUR CHILD WILL BE ACCEPTED.

SWA Club Form

Boarding:

   After checkin, you will be directed to a "preboard area" to await boarding of your child's flight. Your child will be escorted onto the aircraft before general boarding begins by a Southwest Airlines Agent and will be identified to the Flight Attendant as an Unaccompanied Minor. 

   Unaccompanied children who arrive at the departure gate after boarding has begun will be escorted onto the aircraft AFTER all other Customers have boarded. This is done to ensure proper identification to the Flight Attendant who will be responsible for the child's care during flight.

Arrival:

   Explain to your child that he/she should await the assistance of a Flight Attendant before deplaning. The Flight Attendant will assist the child in locating the person named on the "SWA Club" form.

   Remind your child to check to see that all personal items have been gathered before deplaning. Southwest is not liable for carryon items left onboard. The loss of any item should be reported to a Flight Attendant or other uniformed Southwest Airlines personnel.

   Upon arrival, unaccompanied children will be escorted from the aircraft by a Flight Attendant and released to the person named on his/her "SWA Club" form or another designated Southwest Airlines Employee. When picking up your child, the person named on the "SWA Club" form will be required to produce valid photo identification and sign a release. In some cases, there may be a brief wait in receiving the child due to Southwest personnel being engaged in the release of other unaccompanied children or the departure of another aircraft. Southwest Airlines hopes you will understand that the time spent is for the safety of your unaccompanied child.

   Southwest Airlines personnel are not permitted to take children home or remain with them overnight in a hotel. If the child is not met and the adult sending the child cannot be reached, or if the child cannot be returned to the originating city at the sending adult's expense, the child will be turned over to the custody of the welfare department or local police.

   These policies apply on Southwest Airlines only. Other airlines may have different policies and procedures.