Plan to send your child on board with one piece of carry-on luggage that contains identification, medications, a piece of warm clothing such as a sweater, to ensure comfort during the course of the flight. Include some money for use in case of an emergency. Wait until your child s flight departs before you leave the airport. If inclement weather threatens to change your child s schedule at the last minute, you will need to be there to make alternate arrangements. Because the airline will need to verify that the person meeting your child at the final destination is the one you have authorized to pick up your child, be sure to advise that person to bring along a government-issued form of photo identification such as a driver s license.
Some airlines designate a site in the airport as a waiting room for unaccompanied minors.
Check in advance to make sure you know where you can meet your child upon his or her arrival. Be polite but restrained with people met during the flight and decline to answer personal questions about him- or herself. Seek out the assistance of a flight attendant if he or she needs help.