Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport: Children traveling alone

Children traveling alone

Sending a child off to visit with grandparents? Here is all the information you need on check in formalities at the airport and how their journey will take place.

Check in formalities?
If the child is 4 to 12 years old
The child travels as an Unaccompanied Minor passenger (or UM), at no extra charge.

At the departure airport
- At check in, the child will be taking in charge by the airline. From this moment on, the child is the airline's legal responsibility.
- The child receives a "UM pouch" that is usually worn around their neck and contains:
 - the child's plane ticket,
 - their ID papers,
 - parental permission to travel,
 - a fully filled-in identification form with the name and the address of the person who will be collecting the child at the destination airport.
- A hostess will then accompany your child and look after them through boarding formalities.

During the journey
- The child will be looked after by the cabin crew.
- If the child is to take a connecting flight with the same airline, the child remains in the care of the same airline.
- If the child is to take a connecting flight with another airline, you will need to take care of formalities with that airline prior to departure.

At the arrival airport
- As a general rule, unaccompanied minors leave the plane last, accompanied by a hostess.
- The child will be collected by the designated person, after providing proof of identity.

If the child is under the age of 4
- Unaccompanied Minor status applies to children aged 4 to 12.
- Some airlines do however offer this service for the under-fours, at additional cost.

If the child is over the age of 12
- Airlines do not take legal responsibility for children over the age of 12. They do however always attempt to provide assistance to them, should they encounter any difficulty.
- Some airlines do however offer a UM service up to the age of 18, at additional cost.

Travel documents required for flying
The child is leaving for a country where a national ID card is sufficient
The child must also be able to present proof that they have permission to leave France.

The child is traveling alone on an international flight
- What ever the child's age, they require their own passport.
- If the child is traveling to a country where a visa is required, they must also have one in their own name.

The child is not a French citizen
- The child must hold their own passport as well as a travel document
- On returning to France, these documents will allow the child to:
 - reenter France or the external borders of the Schengen Area,
 - prove that they are allowed to stay in France.