Unaccompanied Minors Flying: Documents, Luggage and Handover

The age band decides whether the escort service is mandatory or optional. Condor publishes its bands (checked 10 October 2026):

• Up to 11, the escort service is required.

• Ages 12 to 15: optional, on request.

• From 16, no service and no registration needed.

• The catch for connections: direct flights only, registration on working days, 48 hours ahead at the latest.

Lufthansa has a separate form for teens aged 12 to 17. Other airlines' help pages wouldn't open, so their limits are left out.

Their own ID card or passport with a photo, says the Lufthansa checklist. Depending on the country, a letter from the guardians comes on top; there's no official form.

Germany's Federal Foreign Office recommends an informal consent letter. It should list:

• the child's personal details

• the guardians' details and contact info

• the travel route

• any adult travelling with the child

Add copies of the birth certificate and the guardians' passport data page. Whether signatures need certifying depends on the destination country's law.

Your Europe says there's no EU rule: each country decides, and many airlines have their own forms.

A passport wallet like the BOACAY Reisepass Tasche mit RFID, Reiseunterlagen Organizer für Damen & Herren, Familie Reiseorganizer, wasserdichte Hülle, Etui für Tickets, Geld, Karten keeps copies and letter together. More in our overview of travel document organizers.

Only what the child can comfortably carry alone. The Lufthansa checklist lists 8 kg and 55 x 40 x 23 cm at most (undated PDF, checked 10 October 2026).

It lists warm clothes, a familiar toy, a little spending money and, if needed, medication. I'd underline the next bit twice: Lufthansa staff don't give medication and don't supervise it. For syringes or medicines, the checklist advises a doctor's certificate for customs, more in medication in carry-on luggage.

A small kids' backpack like the deuter Waldfuchs 10 Kinderrucksack is one option. Weigh it packed, the limit covers the whole bag. More sizes in the kids' suitcase comparison 2026.

Lufthansa's timeline, from its checklist (as of 10 October 2026):

1. Book online? Not possible, only by phone, through a travel agent or at the ticket desk, no later than 24 hours before departure.
2. Online check-in opens 23 hours before departure; at the desk, be there 2 hours ahead at least.
3. Parents stay at the airport until the plane carrying the child has taken off.
4. After landing, the named person collects the child, usually at the exit behind baggage claim, and only with valid photo ID.

(Side note: the checklist carries no date, which is beyond me.)

A luggage tag with the parents' phone number doesn't hurt, say the Flintronic Kofferanhänger 2er-Set mit Namensschild und Adresskarte. Flying along yourself? See flying with kids.

At Lufthansa you stay at the airport until take-off, so if the flight is cancelled at short notice you can take your child back, says the checklist. Teens without the escort service who need a hotel night may have to show parental consent, according to the Lufthansa form for 12- to 17-year-olds. Probably worth sending them off with a signed one.

This isn't legal advice. What you'll be asked for depends on the departure, transit and destination countries and on the airline. Guidance: the Federal Foreign Office.

My advice? Check the documents and the pick-up person in writing with the airline and the airport before you book. Better one question too many than a child waiting at the exit for someone who isn't on the form.