Ethiopian minors flying alone

Does Ethiopian Airlines offers any services for children traveling alone?

Ethiopian Airlines allows children of certain age to travel alone on both international and local flights. For these young passengers, Ethiopian Airlines offers Unaccompanied Minor Service and provides a Company Escort (cabin crew), at an applicable charge. If there has been no request for an escort and the father or tutor are not able to pick up the minor at his/her transfer airport, the airline will arrange to have a custodian designated for such purpose (this service is available for minors aged 12 and older). Please contact either your travel agent or call the airline offices if you need more information or have doubts or issues you need to clarify.

Which restrictions regarding age apply on Ethiopian Airlines flights?

No child younger than 5 years of age will be accepted on Ethiopian Airlines flights if they are traveling alone.

Minors 5 to 11 years of age are allowed to travel unaccompanied, although there is an Unaccompanied Minors Service fee applied. At an applicable charge, on both domestic and international routes, an escort can be provided by Ethiopian Airlines to accompany the child throughout the whole trip. This Escort Service is mandatory for all children aged 5 to 11 who travel alone on codeshare flights. The airline company escort will be responsible for the child during the whole trip and will deliver the minor to the authorized person at the disembarking port. If part of the trip is operated by a different airline, the minor will be delivered to the person in charge at the transfer port.

Minors aged 12 to 17 can also travel alone and by themselves, but they can also request the Unaccompanied Minor and Company Escort services. When traveling internationally on codeshare flights, the Unaccompanied Minor Service is mandatory.

How do I arrange my child’s flight?

Some procedures are necessary before the child’s flight. Before booking and paying the airplane ticket contact either your travel agent or the airline directly and ask for an Unaccompanied Minor Form and fill it completely and properly. Write down all the information regarding the person or persons who will be responsible for the minor at the beginning of his journey, at any of the transfer points, if there are any, and at the arrival port. Because Ethiopian Airlines reserves the right to interpret and apply these policies and procedures, you should check with your travel agent if there is anything else you would need.

Unaccompanied Minor Service fees and Company Escort’s fares

International Routes

On flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines (non-codeshare flights), the following fees will apply for children traveling alone:

• Minors aged 5 to 11 years of age will pay an adult airfare price and the mandatory Unaccompanied Minor fee of $100 USD per one way of travel when escort is not requested. The Company Escort service is optional. If you decide to hire a Company Escort, the charge will be calculated as follows: the adult fare for the minor plus one way adult airfare for the escort plus the mandatory Unaccompanied Minor service fee.
• Minors aged 12 to 17 years of age will pay an adult airfare ticket when traveling alone. They can opt for Unaccompanied Minor service and Escort Company (all Unaccompanied Minor policies and procedures will be followed, including fees).

On all international flights operated in part by other airlines (codeshare flights) the following fees will apply for children traveling alone:

• Children aged 5 to 11 years old will pay the adult fare plus the $100 USD fee. The Company Escort Service is mandatory and equivalent to a one way adult airfare.
• Children aged 12 to 17 years old pay the adult fare plus the $100 USD service fee. The Unaccompanied Minor Service is mandatory, but the Company Escort Service is optional.

There is an extra charge for the interline carriage service on both flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines and the ones operated by other airlines.

Domestic Routes

These are the fees for Unaccompanied Minors on all domestic flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines:

• Minors between the ages of 5 and 11 flying unaccompanied with Company Escort on domestic flights have to pay the escort’s airfare, one-way adult fare, and the ETB 200 Unaccompanied Minor Service fee.
• Minors between the ages of 12 to 18 are able to travel unaccompanied (no escort service is required). They just need to fill out the Unaccompanied Minor form and pay the ETB 200 Unaccompanied Minor Service fee.

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