Unaccompanied children: Little passengers are a big deal!
Unaccompanied children need very special support. With Lufthansa, they are in the best hands: we look after their needs with great sensitivity – at the airport, during the flight and after landing.
Starting 1 September 2019:
Spanish authorities will require that all Spanish minors travelling alone or accompanied by third parties who are not parents or guardians have a travel permit issued by one of the following: Police, Civil Guard, Notary's Office or Town Hall, requested in person by the parents or legal guardians.
As for foreign minors living in Spain, their legal representatives must go to the consulate to fill in the necessary documentation according to their national legislation.
From what age are children allowed to travel alone?
Children aged between 5 and 11 may only fly unaccompanied if they are using our care service or if they are travelling with someone who is at least 12 years old. The Lufthansa care service can also be booked by parents for unaccompanied children from the age of 12 up to a maximum of 17 years. This ensures that the child receives support, especially in the event of a disruption to their flight, such as a delay or cancellation.
Every year 70,000 children travel using the Lufthansa care service. The Lufthansa care service ensures that children and their relatives feel they are in good hands before take-off, during the flight and after landing. On arrival, the flight crew will hand your child over to a member of staff who will then take your child to meet the person who is collecting them. Please note that your child must be met immediately by the person collecting them at the destination airport. Please also note that unaccompanied children under 12 years of age may not take a pet into the cabin with them.
Please note that other airlines may have different regulations for unaccompanied children than those described here for Lufthansa. If your chosen flight is operated by a carrier other than Lufthansa, please enquire directly with the respective airline about the rules for children travelling alone. This also applies to Lufthansa Group airlines:
We currently offer our care service for unaccompanied children on all direct flights and on connecting flights in Zurich, Geneva and Brussels. The service is not offered for connections in Munich, Frankfurt or Vienna.
Important travel documents and care service form
Please let us know that your child will be travelling alone as soon as you book the flight. To help you prepare for the journey, please use our practical checklist for unaccompanied children, in which we have listed all the important information for your child’s trip.
As well as the necessary documents (e.g. the care service form), the list also includes useful tips on booking, check-in, carry-on baggage, free baggage allowance and collection at the destination. At the airport you will be given the small yellow Lufthansa shoulder bag which your child should keep with them clearly visible during the entire journey. The bag holds all the necessary travel documents:
- Valid passport/child’s ID card1
- Visa for the destination country2
- Travel insurance certificate2
- Information on any allergies the child may have3
- Receipt for pre-paid charges for the care service, if applicable
- Declaration of consent from parents/legal guardians that their child may travel unaccompanied2
- The completed care service form1
Save yourself time: fill in and print out the care service form at home.
Please note that three copies of the form are required for each flight. For flights with multiple legs, three forms are required for each individual flight to the destination.
Are additional fees charged for unaccompanied children?
Yes, for the Lufthansa care service for unaccompanied children, in addition to the price of the flight, a care service charge applies per route and per child (even in the case of siblings travelling together):
Zone 1: Domestic flights (within DE, CH and AT) and flights within Africa
Zone 2: Europe (IATA Zone 210) incl. flights within and between DE, CH and AT
Zone 3: North Africa and the Levant (incl. LB, IL, EK, JO, IQ, KZ, TM)
Zone 4: The Middle East, Central Africa and the Arab region (incl. AE, QA, IR, NG, SA, ET, BH, OM, KW)
Zone 5: Medium-haul intercontinental flights (incl. US East Coast, CA East Coast, IN, GQ, KE, TZ, AO, MV)
Zone 6: Long-haul intercontinental flights (incl. US West Coast, CA West Coast, South America, JP, CN, KR, TH, SG, ZA, SC)
Booking
Tickets for unaccompanied children cannot be booked online but only through the Service Center or from your travel agency. In order to guarantee the service, the booking must be made at the latest 24 hours before departure. Please contact the Service Center if you have any questions.
Baggage for unaccompanied children
Your child’s carry-on baggage may be the same size as that which is permitted for an adult. However, your child should be able to carry the bag easily unaided. Any medicines to be taken during the flight or at the destination, warm clothing and a small amount of spending money should, of course, also be included. Find out more about this subject in our carry-on baggage regulations.
You can check your free baggage allowance in just a few steps with our baggage calculator, based on route, travel class and fare. There you will also find the prices and dimensions for optional baggage.
The best of care even before departure
The Lufthansa check-in counters are the first point of contact for you and your child as soon as you arrive at the airport. In Frankfurt you will now be entrusting your child to the service staff. Your child is therefore in the best hands from take-off to landing and will be looked after until the handover to the person collecting your child at the destination airport.
At other airports you may be required to accompany your child to the gate yourself. Please enquire about this at a Lufthansa check-in counter when you arrive at the airport.
Please note that the individual bringing the child to the airport and collecting the child from the destination airport must be at least 18 years of age. The individual who brings the child to the airport must be available at the airport and contactable by phone until the booked flight departs.
Dedicated check-in counters
At Frankfurt Airport, Lufthansa provides dedicated check-in counters for children who will be travelling alone and their parents in departures hall B, counters 336–339. At Munich Airport, counter 417 in the departures hall on Level 4 serves the same purpose.
The best of care on board and after landing
Welcome on board!
Your child will be welcomed on board by our flight attendants and looked after throughout the flight. Your child will be seated close to the flight attendants so that they can be on hand immediately if your child has any questions or concerns. With toys, drawing equipment and a special children’s entertainment programme, the time on board will simply fly by.
Our special children’s menus, which have been prepared with care, are delicious and healthy. You can order these menus free of charge up to 24 hours before departure online at My bookings.
More information about children’s and special meals can be found in our FAQs.
Welcome at the destination
At the destination airport, the flight crew will hand your child over to a member of staff who will then take them to meet the person collecting them.
Before entrusting your child to the person collecting them, Lufthansa will check by asking to see a valid ID that this is the person named on the Lufthansa care service form. Please let the person collecting your child know that he or she must produce a valid ID or passport. The person collecting your child must then take immediate responsibility for your child.
Even if flights are delayed, we will, of course, take good care of your child. In order to save the person collecting your child an unnecessary wait in the event of a flight delay, you can check the flight status at any time online and thus keep up to date.
In Frankfurt you can collect your child after baggage claim in the Arrivals area of the respective flight; in Munich in front of the exit at baggage reclaim.
1 Required in every case
2 Required depending on destination country
3 Recommended