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United Airlines loses track of girl flying solo: Should children fly alone?

Print | Comments () Posted by Kristi Palma August 16, 2012 08:08 AM

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A 10-year-old girl from San Francisco was flying United Airlines alone as an "unaccompanied minor" when her parents say the airline lost track of her.

The AP reports the girl's parents paid the airline an extra $99 to assist their daughter, who was flying to a camp in Michigan, with a connection at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Once at O'Hare, apparently the company the airline hired to assist the girl did not show up.

The girl missed her connecting flight but ultimately made it to camp safely. However, "she was sad and scared and no one helped," her parents wrote in a letter.

Do you think children should fly alone?

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Kristi Palma, Boston.com Moms producer, is the mom of a kindergartner and a preschooler. She is a writer who enjoys cooking her grandmother's Italian recipes (when her son isn't launching paper airplanes into them). Follow her on Twitter @kristipalma.

Jennifer Clark Estes is a teacher, writer, blogger, and the mother of four young children. In her free time, she blogs at A Mom's World, plays with the kids (or chauffeurs them around), and is desperately seeking a quiet spot so she can read a book. Follow her on Twitter @JenniferCEstes.