W
hen 11-year-old Orla
and nine-year-old
Rosie set off for Chek
Lap Kok airport one
morning last summer, they couldn’t
help feeling nervous about the journey
ahead. They are not generally fearful
flyers, and they were embarking on a
familiar journey that they have made
several times in the past – from Hong
Kong to Glasgow via Dubai – but this
time, it was different. This time, they
would be flying without their mum
or dad. They would be two of the
estimated hundreds of thousands of
children who fly as “unaccompanied
minors” all over the world each
year.
The thought of putting our most
precious cargo – our irreplaceable
children – on a plane, alone, to jet off
halfway around the world can seem
a very drastic option. As well as the
major worries about whether they will
be safe on the plane and will arrive
unscathed at their destination, there
are also the mass of minor worries to
consider. Will they remember to eat?
Will they ask for help if they need
it? Will they cope with airline toilets
unaided? Will they sleep? Will they
be able to deal with any unexpected
hiccups such as turbulence? But
despite these very natural worries, for
some parents, especially those living
in such an international city as Hong
Kong where extended family may be
scattered in different corners of the
globe, sending children on an airline-
run unaccompanied minor scheme
can sometimes provide an affordable
and practical solution to a logistical
problem.
Rosie and Orla’s mum Arlene
Goode, from Discovery Bay, explains,
“We wanted the girls to spend
some good, quality time with their
grandparents and cousins in the UK
over the summer, but my husband
and I don’t get enough annual leave
to stay for extended periods. In the
past, I’d flown with them, dropped
them off with family, then come
straight back to Hong Kong to go
Would you send your son or daughter
on a plane halfway around the world,
without you? asks
Rachel Kenney
.
Solo flight
36
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