Is it safe for a 12 year old to travel to Hawaii alone from Colorado?|167666

My best friend want to come visit me here in Hawaii and my family said they would pay half the price for her to come. Her parents said they want her to go but they don_t think it_s safe. My parents aren_t going to say anything and I won_t either, but I want your opinionif it_ safe or not.

Also, she probably won_t use the uncaccompanied minor service.

I flew from the east coast of the US to Maui years ago, as an adult, with a change of planes in LA. I think it might be overwhelming for a 12 year old to have to change planes in that huge place. However, I don_t know this girl and maybe she is super worldly-wise and travel savvy and could handle it. As long as she stays with a crowd of people and doesn_t get off by herself, the safety issue probably isn_t an issue. I don_t know that I would have allowed my 12 year old girl to travel alone without the unaccompanied minor service.

My younger eleven year old sister just flew by herself yesterday from San Diego to Illinois. I flew alone when i was just seven from San Diego to Thailand! It is a good experience.
Also you can escort passes that allows you to go to the gate with the minor right until they board. The person receiving the minor can also get an escort pass to meet the child right at the gate they come out of. Personally..i think it is really silly to be that worried over if the child can handle it.

I_m 13 years old and I fly to Hawaii by myself every summer to visit my dad. We live in California. And in 20 days I_m about to fly to Israel by myself again from California. It_s definitely safe ^^

Depends on the child. If she thinks she can handle finding her flights and everything, then it should be perfectly fine.

I think in general it is okay. I_ve seen children on flights before traveling by themselves. Although, I_m not sure I would be okay with it if it was my child.

I would allow it IF she used the airport escort when changing planes

I did that before when I was just 11. but its best to have an adult with you

Here are the two things I would do:

1. Try to get a direct flight from Denver to Honolulu. I don_t know if anyone does it-I think United does it. It might be more expensive, but it will avoid having to transfer at an airport, and chances are the airport will be a very big airport. For example, I have often transferred at Phoenix International Airport and it took several minutes to find out where my gate was, and then about the same time just to walk to it. Of course, once you_re in airports, it_s very safe because everyone _in-transit_ has already passed security and are only people who are looking for flights-no need to worry about stragglers who will try to walk away with your friend or something. But it_s probably just better to avoid the transfer if you can.

2. Make sure somebody is there at Honolulu International Airport (well, I am assuming that you_re talking about Honolulu) to greet her so that once she exits the _secured area_ of the airport where she claims her bags that she is not alone-that is where said stragglers might be lurking. If you_re going to meet her, simply arrive at the airport early and you can take a couple minutes to find where the baggage claim is for her flight. That_s what I do whenever I wait for somebody. Then I can greet them immediately when their flight arrives.

Hope this helps!