FAQ/Unaccompanied Minors: Airport Arrival

When you arrive at the airport, check in at the ticket counter in the main lobby of the airport to:

• Check luggage
• Provide the required Unaccompanied Minor documentation
• Pay the $50 each-way service charge
• Get the child's boarding pass
• Get your "escort pass" so you can accompany the child through the security checkpoint and to the gate.

When you get to the gate, let the Customer Service Agent know that the child is an Unaccompanied Minor and give the Agent the completed UM paperwork. View the Unaccompanied Minor form in PDF format.

Make sure that the information on the UM paperwork including flight number and destination airport matches that shown on the UM's itinerary. REMEMBER, ALL ITEMS ON THE UNACCOMPANIED MINOR FORM MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE A CHILD MAY TRAVEL AS AN UNACCOMPANIED MINOR.

The Unaccompanied Minor form will be inserted in the Unaccompanied Minor lanyard and must be worn by the child for the duration of the flight. The lanyard is required as it allows Southwest Airlines Employees to easily identify Unaccompanied Minors.

Two unaccompanied minors may travel together on the same reservation, but you will have to pay $50 each way for each Unaccompanied Minor traveling.

Yes, you have the option to pay the $50 one-way service charge at the time of checkin before the outbound flight.

Customers can pay with accepted credit cards. Southwest^® gift cards, Southwest LUV Vouchers, unused Travel Funds and cash are not accepted forms of payment for the UM service charge.

Yes, the Unaccompanied Minor charge is refundable. If you cancel your reservation and your Unaccompanied Minor does not travel, if your flight is canceled and you choose not to rebook, or if the child is joined by an accompanying passenger age 12 or older and is no longer an Unaccompanied Minor, contact Southwest at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792) or visit the airport ticket counter to process your refund.

Yes. Standard rules and regulations involving checking luggage apply to Unaccompanied Minors. When checking luggage, make sure that the baggage claim ticket and baggage tag match your child's final destination (ending city of the journey). Ensure that the claim ticket can be easily located when the child arrives at his/her final destination.

Yes. Even if you have already purchased your child's ticket and he/she has no luggage to check, you must stop at the ticket counter to let a Customer Service Agent know that the child is an Unaccompanied Minor. There you can pay the $50 each way service charge and obtain an "escort pass" to accompany the child through security to the gate area. While at the ticket counter, you may also fill out the Unaccompanied Minor form and receive your child's boarding pass. YOUR CHILD MUST HAVE A BOARDING PASS TO BOARD THE AIRCRAFT.

Yes. All Customers may carry one bag plus one smaller, personal-type item onboard the airplane.

• Bag dimensions are limited to 10x16x24 inches.
• Personal-type items include backpacks, cameras, CD and DVD players, food containers, or a small toy.
• Assistive devices for qualified Customers with disabilities will not considered carryon or personal items and may be brought onboard the flight in addition to the above.

At the ticket counter, please provide a valid form of identification and a copy of your child's itinerary and request an "escort pass" that will allow you to pass through security.

Be sure to identify your child to the Customer Service Agent as an "Unaccompanied Minor" so that he/she will be able to preboard. Your child will be escorted onto the aircraft by a Southwest Airlines Employee before general boarding begins and will be introduced to the Flight Attendant as an Unaccompanied Minor.

Unaccompanied Minor children who arrive at the departure gate after boarding has begun will be escorted onto the aircraft AFTER all other Customers have boarded or in between boarding groups. This allows Southwest personnel to proper identify the UM to the Flight Attendant who will be responsible for the child's care during flight.

Yes. You must wait within the gate area until your child's flight is in the air. A Southwest Airlines Employee will let you know when you are able to leave the boarding area.

Upon arrival at their destination, your child will be released to the person specified on the Unaccompanied Minor form (or to the alternate contact specified). IDENTIFICATION WILL BE REQUIRED.