News —
Autumn school holiday: Is your child travelling alone?
The autumn holiday time is synonymous with increased traffic at Oslo Airport, and is one of the periods of the year that stand out in terms of the number of children travelling alone.
Travelling unaccompanied minors has been a growing trend in recent years and Oslo Airport and the airlines are committed to providing services to this target group.
“Holidays are peak seasons for unaccompanied minors. From experience, we know that many children travel alone to visit grandparents and family elsewhere in the country. We are keeping an extra eye on this group during these weeks,” says Lasse A. Vangstein, spokesman for Oslo Airport.
Travelling alone
All of the Norwegian airlines offer assistance services for children travelling alone on both domestic and international flights, subject to advance booking. Children can travel alone from the age of five. After they turn 12 they are no longer entitled to assistance from the airlines.
All children who are assisted by an airline will be given a travel information folder that they must carry visibly throughout their trip. Remember that when you check in your child, you must provide the contact information for the person who will be meeting the child at the airport. We recommend that you fill this out in advance to speed up the check-in process. Whoever meets the child must bring proof of identity, and it is important that this matches the person listed on the form.
Accompany your child to the aircraft
You can accompany your child through the security check and up to the aircraft as long as you have an escort ID. This ID is issued at the check-in desk, and must be requested when you check in your child. Only one parent may accompany the child.
For travel outside Schengen, the child may be accompanied only up to the passport control.
Meet Felix & Fiona
Felix & Fiona is Oslo Airport's new concept designed to direct children and parents to services and facilities at the airport. With their recognizable design, our two new friends will help families navigate their way to services specifically aimed at them.
The family track that Oslo Airport opened in the summer of 2013 is one of the services fronted by Felix & Fiona. Its clearly marked entrance and small footprints on the floor for tots make it easy to spot for families. Here, children will be greeted by security staff who are particularly focused on creating a good experience for children.
“The most important thing is to provide families with good services, and to reduce the stress of going through the security check. We believe that all our travellers benefit when families have an alternative to the ordinary security check,” says Vangstein.
In addition to the family track, you will find Felix & Fiona in all baby care rooms, the play airplane, and cafes and restaurants that have children's menus or a microwave to heat baby food.
“Providing for safe and comfortable travel by our youngest passengers is important to us,” says Vangstein.
Check with your airline for their rules for children travelling alone.
Useful webpages
Oslo Airport - osl.no
SAS - sas.no
Norwegian - norwegian.no
Widerøe - wideroe.no
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