What is unaccompanied minor service?
Young children traveling without a parent or legal guardian are considered unaccompanied minors. Most airlines provide a service to assist these children from their point of departure to their final destination.
What age does my child have to be to qualify as an unaccompanied minor?
The service is mandatory for children ages 5-12 traveling without an adult who is at least 16 years old. Children ages 13-18 years are not required to travel as unaccompanied minors, but the service is optional for this age group as well. Children under 5 years of age are not allowed to travel unless accompanied by an adult.
What are the fees associated with this service?
The cost of the service is $75 per El Al flight segment. The cost of the Child Care service for continuation flights is $95, subject to the restrictions in force at destinations and partner airlines.
What are the restrictions?
- The child must be escorted to the airport of departure by a parent or authorized escort aged 16 or over, who will remain with the child until the flight departs.
- The escort should have complete details including the full name, address and telephone number of the person who will meet the child at the end destination. The person meeting the child at the end destination must produce documentation identifying him or her as the person whose details were submitted at the departure point.
- If the unaccompanied minor's flight includes a change of aircraft or transfers to another airline, the child should have with him/her a confirmed reservation for the second flight en route to the final destination.
- If a child under 12 years of age is accompanied by an adult who is not his or her parent (family names are different) the adult must sign a Temporary Guardian form at counters 98 - 99 (there is no need for the form to be notarized).
- Notarized Approval – In certain cases, the police require notarized approval, such as when the minor is not a relative (or for any other reason). This person must bring the notarized approval to Border Control and must also sign a Temporary Guardian form. This should be done at counter 99 of the special unit.
- Reservations will not be approved for a flight route that includes two airports or two terminals at the same airport, at a transit point, for example: an EL AL flight from Israel to the USA that combines Tel Aviv to JFK Airport in New York, followed by a flight from La Guardia Airport (LGA) in New York to Los Angeles (LAX).
- Following is a list of airports at which unaccompanied minors will not be accepted for specific flights departing from a different terminal from the one at which the flight landed.
- At JFK (New York), ORD (Chicago), and LAX (Los Angeles), in the USA, unaccompanied minors will not be accepted for transit flights.
- At FCO (Rome) unaccompanied minors will not be accepted for internal transit flights to destinations in Italy.
- At ATH (Athens), unaccompanied minors will not be accepted for internal transit flights to destinations in Greece.
- At IST (Istanbul), unaccompanied minors will not be accepted for internal transit flights to destinations in Turkey.
- At LHR (London, Heathrow), unaccompanied minors will be accepted for transit flights only with the following airlines: BA (flight nos. 300 and higher), EI, JE, SM, UK, SN, SA, BD, BR, DA.
- At YYZ (Toronto), unaccompanied minors will be accepted for transit flights only with the following airlines: UH, SQ, SX, PW, OA, LH, JU, JM, GX, CS, 4V, WJ.
- At EWR, unaccompanied minors will be accepted for transit flights only with airlines NW, DL.
How do I book this service
Call the El Al Airlines reservations center.
