Children may travel unaccompanied on certain routes depending on their age and provided the child does not require additional care such as toileting, feeding or administering of medicine.
Children travelling without an adult 15 years or older must meet the unaccompanied minors conditions.
If you are concerned that your child has a medical condition that may be affected by the flight please seek medical advice. Our staff will do all they can to ensure a safe and comfortable journey however they cannot administer medication or be responsible for ensuring your child takes medication at a specific time.
For their safety children travelling in a different cabin to their caregiver are required to be classified as unaccompanied minors.
Air New Zealand only permits unaccompanied minors on Air New Zealand operated flights. If your child is connecting to or from another carrier they will only be accepted if a parent or guardian is available to deliver and receive the child at both ends of the Air New Zealand flight. The child must be checked in for only the Air New Zealand flight, claim baggage and clear Customs (if applicable) and be handed over to the parent/guardian to check in for the next flight. The parent/guardian will need to remain in the intermediary airport until after the aircraft departs. In the case of delays or flight cancellations, the parent/guardian is responsible for the Unaccompanied Minor's care.
Please contact the operating carrier for travel on another carrier, including Air New Zealand codeshare flights.
Unaccompanied Minor travel procedure
Please note that the Unaccompanied Minor must be checked-in 60 minutes prior to the departure of a domestic New Zealand flight and 2.5 hours for trans-Tasman flights. For all international flights, unaccompanied minors must be checked-in 3 hours prior to departure.
An Unaccompanied Minor will be escorted by airline staff from check-in to their seat on the aircraft. If travelling on an international flight, the child will be escorted and assisted through the departure formalities of passport control, and security screening to the departure gate.
At the departure gate the Unaccompanied Minor is escorted onto the aircraft, introduced to the cabin crew who then assist the child to their seat.
Supervision and assistance will also be provided if your child is making connecting flights on the same day. This applies to transit stops less than two hours on domestic services and three hours on international services. On arrival your child will be escorted from the aircraft, through the arrival formalities and handed to the person you have nominated.
In order that we can take the best possible care of your child, you will need to provide information including contact details of guardians at both ends of the journey and for any person meeting your child at stopover points, each person must also present photo ID. Should any of these details change it is important to let Air New Zealand know prior to dropping off or picking up of the child. You must present a completed Unaccompanied Minor form at check-in at the airport.
Children travelling alone
Please refer to the Unaccompanied Minors Age Limits chart for permitted routes based on your child's age on the date on commencement of travel.
Booking / pricing
Travel as an unaccompanied minor is charged at the best available adult fare. For travel within New Zealand, trans-Tasman and within the Pacific islands Unaccompanied Minors can be booked online, although Seat Select will not be available for these bookings. For other destinations our Contact Centre is able to offer you the best available adult fare at the time of booking. Travel as an unaccompanied minor does not attract any additional charges and has the same entitlements on board as adult fares based on product purchased.
Please note that movies, meals and drinks are provided when purchasing The Works product only. If opting for Seat or Seat + Bag products for your children's travel you may wish to consider purchasing vouchers at the airport so they can select products from the inflight bites menu, cash is not accepted for purchases onboard.
Economy Skycouch™
Children under 12 years of age at the time of travel are not allowed to travel on the Economy Skycouch.
