[glide625]

Any parent who would allow a female child to fly alone and unattended should be prosecuted for child abuse.

[dbacks]

[Any parent who would allow a female child to fly alone and unattended should be prosecuted for child abuse.]

??

[CharlesWayneCT]

I would assume she was turned over to the flight crew, who would have kept an eye on her and ensured she was returned to an adult on the other side.

Generally you wouldn’t expect any trouble DURING the flight, since you are in a crowded room and the attendents are there to keep the peace. But if someone doesn’t say anything in the middle of an airplane, what’s to keep her from being attacked at school, at a movie theatre, or a playground?

At 11 years old, the parents are not stuck to her side any more.

I’m not passing judgment on this particular case, I’m saying that there’s no reason why an 11-year-old can’t fly unescorted. You just need an adult on either side, and to use the airline’s child transport program.

[tfecw]

"Any parent who would allow a female child to fly alone and unattended should be prosecuted for child abuse."

You're joking right? It's not like this girl was hitchhiking her way to her destination. Are you usually this quick to take children from their parents?

[Fairview]

I let my child fly back and forth to see her grandparents starting when she was about that age. If any man had tried to touch her inappropriately the whole plane would have watched while she took her big heavy riding boots and jumped up and down on his face. No one messes with her, then or now.

[ariamne]

Well come and trundle me off to the hoosegow then.

I let my pre-teen daughter fly alone to Florida, where she was met by aunt and uncle. She flew Southwest, and I met with the flight attendant whose care she was in, who allayed my fears by assuring me she would not leave my child's side until she deposited her into her aunt's arms. Emily sat with the flight attendant in the bulkhead row. I must confess, I'd have second thoughts now though. Still, don't be so quick to judge.

[ml/nj]

Any parent who would allow a female child to fly alone and unattended should be prosecuted for child abuse.

Twaddle!

My daughter started flying by herself when she was seven years old. When she was 11 she flew to Europe by herself. These were visits to family members (grandparents, aunts). Probably until her teens she flew as an "unaccompanied minor," which means the airline was acting in loco parentis. They did look after her from all I could tell. Once a teen, she made these trips without bothering for special status. I'm not sure how airlines are much different from any other situation where a kid is separated from his/her parents. The confidence my daughter gained from these trips is unmeasurable. It was one of the things she wrote about on the only college application she ever made. (University of Virginia)

ML/NJ

[N3WBI3]

And, at what age, should said statute not make it criminal?