Avianca minors flying alone

Does Avianca offer special services for children traveling alone?

Avianca offers assistance and support, the Unaccompanied Minors service, before, during and after the flight for children from 5 to 17 years of age. The assistance to Unaccompanied Minors begins at the time they are received at the airport and ends when they are safely handed over to the person designated to be responsible for them at their final destination. The service does not include medical care.

When is the Unaccompanied Minors (UM) service mandatory?

The Unaccompanied Minors service is mandatory on all routes, except domestic flights within Ecuador, for children between 5 and 11 years (up to one day before their 12th birthday).

The service is optional for children between 12 and 17 years.

A minor between 13 and 17 years of age is not allowed to take charge of another child aged between 0 and 12 years, unless they are the child’s parent.

Unaccompanied Minors Service

The Unaccompanied Minors service must be requested through Avianca Call Center from the time of booking up to 24 hours before departure. As there is a limit to the number of minors allowed per flight, the request must be confirmed for both the outbound and return flights. Avianca allows no overnight stays and/or no more than 2 connections when booking a flight for an Unaccompanied Minor.

Avianca will not accept the Unaccompanied Minor if:

• The child is under 5 years old.
• The child is under medical treatment.
• The information provided in the required form is not complete.
• The child runs the risk of missing their connecting flight(s) because of a delay.

Unaccompanied Minors have the right to the normal baggage allowance that applies for their route. Minors are not allowed to travel with excess baggage, extra pieces of baggage, or pets (except when the Unaccompanied Minor has a disability, in which case Avianca allows for a Guide Dog or an Emotional Support Animal to accompany the minor). The child is responsible for handling his/her own baggage and valuable items.

At the departure airport, an adult must be present at the counter to check in the Unaccompanied Minor. Prior to the acceptance and documentation of an Unaccompanied Minor, the parents/guardians must complete and sign the “Transporte de Menores sin Acompanar” form, which will be provided by Avianca staff. For Brazilian minors traveling alone, you must present an authorization form for international travel where the approval to leave the country is clearly expressed, but which does not necessarily need to have been endorsed by a judge.

The person checking-in the Unaccompanied Minor must remain available at the airport of origin until the flight departs. Also, the person authorized to receive the minor must be available at the destination airport at the scheduled flight arrival time. Minors will be returned to the airport of origin when the person authorized to receive them at the final destination airport does not show.

Fees

For each Unaccompanied Minor, regardless if children traveling alone are included in the same booking or are siblings, Avianca will charge a service fee. The fee applies per segment.

More information here >>