At the end of 2023, there were two high-profile cases of unaccompanied minors on airplanes.
In both instances, they were put on flights they should not have been on. One boy was 16 years old, but the other boy was only six.
The respective families were upset, and one has even threatened legal action.
I have only one thing to say, and it’s probably an unpopular opinion – airline workers, from gate agents to flight attendants, are not babysitters.
Let me repeat that for good measure – airline workers are not your babysitters. They have enough to do, before, during and after the flight, to make sure everything goes smoothly. In some cases and on some flights, there are literally dozens of passengers per flight attendant.
Mind you, it’s not that I’m heartless. I am a parent and I can’t imagine getting a phone call from my child, saying he was in Puerto Rico when he was supposed to be in Ohio. That was the case of the 16-year-old boy and the apprehension level and the panic must have been palpable for all involved for someone who landed elsewhere, much less in a country where he might not speak the language.
The case can be made that since the airline was willing to sell the ticket they share in the responsibility.
I disagree.
I find it disingenuous that parents and guardians are willing to turn their children over to strangers in a metal box, but they would not do so, and rightfully so, to strangers on the street. Moreover, that airport and that airline cabin are places of business. Would you like it if someone showed up to your place of business and ceded responsibility for a child to you?
There’s something wrong with this picture.
There has to be a happy medium. A companion, travel-only, fare, immediately comes to mind, but that can easily be taken advantage of.
Still, we have to stop thinking about airlines as babysitters for our children.
No matter how old or mature they might be.
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