Unaccompanied minors
Children ages 5 through 11 who are travelling unaccompanied by an adult are required to make use of our ‘unaccompanied minor service’. We should point out that your child will be denied boarding if the unaccompanied minor service has not been reserved. Children younger than 5 years of age may not travel without being accompanied by an adult. Young passengers 12 to 17 years of age may travel independently but can still make use of our unaccompanied minor service.
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The unaccompanied minor service
With this service, you can rest assured that your child will receive special care and attention throughout the journey, even in the event of delays. Your child will be under the constant supervision of ground and cabin staff. This unaccompanied minor service is mandatory for children aged 5 through 11who are travelling unaccompanied by an adult.
The adult accompanying a child to the airport to drop him/her off for a flight on which the child will be travelling alone should present the child at the check-in counter previous to departure. This adult should always remain at the airport until the aircraft has departed.
During a somewhat longer transfer at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, children travelling unaccompanied will be accommodated at in our Junior Jet Lounge. Here they can enjoy soft drinks, video and computer games, videos, books in various languages and a variety of toys.
At the end of the journey, a KLM agent will personally accompany your child to the person you have authorised to collect the child.
How to arrange for the unaccompanied minor service
The unaccompanied minor service has to be booked before the trip begins. It is not possible to make these arrangements, however, when booking your flight at this website. To book this service, you will have to arrange for it by contacting our KLM Reservations Office.
If your flight is operated by one of KLM’s partner airlines, other rules can apply to children travelling alone. For this reason, you should ask your travel agent about this or get information directly from that airline about its rules.
How the unaccompanied minor service works
In order to have your child benefit from the unaccompanied minor service during the trip, you will have to lend your authorisation for this. This is done by completing and signing a “Handling Advice” form issued by the airline during the reservation process or given to you at the airport before the trip begins. Your child can be denied boarding if we have not received this completed and signed form in time.
The parent or other adult who brings the child to the airport and turns him/her over to the airline’s personnel must always remain at the airport until the aircraft has departed.
Costs for the unaccompanied minor service
- When you make arrangements for the unaccompanied minor service for children younger than 12 years of age, you can no longer make use of the discount ticket rates for children younger than 12. Instead, you will pay the fare assigned to an adult ticket.
- For children 12 years of age and older, you will pay the fare assigned to an adult ticket plus a service surcharge.
The service surcharge for the outward-bound flight and any return flight will have to be paid before the trip begins.
One way trip | Non-stop | With transfer |
Within Europe | EUR 40 | EUR 60 |
On KLM flights between:
| EUR 40 | EUR 90 |
| USD 120 | USD 120 |
| EUR 60 | EUR 90 |
Discounts sometimes apply to brothers/sisters travelling together. You can request more information about this by contacting our KLM Reservations Office.