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A 12-year-old British girl was denied passage on a British Airways flight for having Down syndrome, supposedly per airline policy.
Airline staff refused to sell a plane ticket to Alice Saunders for an unaccompanied trip from London's Gatwick Airport to Glasgow. Her mother, Heather Saunders, was told it was company policy to not accept young passengers with Down syndrome flying alone.
A 12-year-old British girl was denied passage on a British Airways flight for having Down syndrome, supposedly per airline policy.
Airline staff refused to sell a plane ticket to Alice Saunders for an unaccompanied trip from London's Gatwick Airport to Glasgow. Her mother, Heather Saunders, was told it was company policy to not accept young passengers with Down syndrome flying alone.
I think the mother was purchasing the ticket for her daughter to fly unaccompanied, which they do allow normally. The airline later apologized and admitted it was NOT their policy to deny a 12 year old to fly unaccompanied because she has Downs syndrome. I guess someone messed up.....
It is really amazing how someone can be so ignorant about Down syndrome in the first place. Evidently the customer service rep had just climbed out from under a rock where she had been for 40 years.
That is horrible! I read the article and apparently the airline's policy is to let children five and up fly unaccompanied, as long as they are toilet-trained and well-behaved. Certainly sounds like that was the case here.
I'm not sure why people would think children shouldn't travel alone. It's not as if they're set loose to navigate the airport by themselves; someone from the airline makes sure they are OK. My brother, cousin and I used to fly together to visit relatives who lived far away, when we were 9-11 years old.
Some of the comments on that article are really awful...
So they should let an admittedly mentally retarded child fly alone? Keep in mind that pilot and crew are not trained to deal with 'special needs' children, nor should it be their responsibility to babysit them.
So they should let an admittedly mentally retarded child fly alone? Keep in mind that pilot and crew are not trained to deal with 'special needs' children, nor should it be their responsibility to babysit them.
And the difference between allowing a child of 5 and a down's syndrome child who is 12 to fly alone is?
Guidelines for children flying alone, also called "unaccompanied minors," vary by airline. Therefore, you should check with your carrier for specific details. In general, you can expect:
Children ages 5 and older can usually fly unaccompanied by an adult passenger.
However, children ages 5-8 may not be allowed to take connecting flights on their own.
Children over 8 years old may be able to take a connecting flight, but you should be prepared for a significant airline surcharge for the additional service of having airline personnel escort your child through the terminal.
The person accompanying the minor does not need special training to deal with a Down's Syndrome child, but they may have experience anyway.
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