birth certificates for kids boarding planes??

[dandelion]

FWIW -

I will be flying SWA tomorrow, with my two children, 2 and almost 5. They told me I need to have a birth certificate or a report card (huh? what does THAT prove?) for each of them.

I called back to make sure a copy of the birth certificate was ok, and it is. And my kindergartener will be proud to wear her school id tag.

 

[Bob913]

We're leaving for WDW next Friday. Even though it says
no ID is required for kids under 18 on Delta's web site
and even though they said ID was not required when
we called to double check our flight a couple of days ago,
we decided to play it safe and got a copy of a Birth
Certificate.

We figured why chance it. The way things are going, they
could change the rules when we're down there and we'd
be out of luck.

 

[Coll0610]

We flew on 10/7 and 10/14. Airtran did not require ID for 6 year old DS. Bloomington IL airport did not require it. Orlando airport did require it to get through security, but said that if I didn't have it, they would have just searched all of us. A photocopy of the birth certificate was fine.

Based on the different requirements that airlines and airports seem to have, it sounds like it would be a good idea for parents to carry some form of ID for all children. I wonder if school IDs would be sufficient. They usually want a government issued ID for adults, so they won't accept my security badge from work which is pretty similar to a school ID.

 

[Esmerelda]

We just returned from Orlando 10/2 via Delta. Both coming and going, I had to produce my two son's birth certificates and she matched them against the computer.

I was told by Delta before we left to be sure and have them and they were asked for.


have a great trip!

 

[Planogirl]

Does anyone have a clue as to why any of the airlines want to see ID or birth certificates for kids? What exactly is the point of this?

I've never had to show one with Continental or Delta for DS but I guess that we'd better take one along just to be sure.

 

[Granny]

Planogirl....

Other than checking to make sure a child is young enough to be eligible for free passage, I don't get this either.

I guess next the restaurants will want to see the bc to make sure the kids are young enough for the kids' menu pricing!!

As was posted above, I just wish they'd get together and be consistent. I guess I'll just add my DDs' bc's to my 15 page "how to travel light" packing list.

 

[ducklite]

I think it's a double check of a lot of things. First of all, to make sure that you are who you are claiming to be. Also, to make sure you are the kids parents and have the right to transport them over the state lines.

I would suggest just getting a passport for everyone in your family, that way you dont have to worry about losing birth certificates, and don't need to worry yourselves over it.

Anne

 

[karylrocks]

It seems that there have always been discrepancies between airlines and airports as to how they do things, so it doesn't surprise me that there still are now. They are still trying to figure out how they should handle things differently now, and seem to change the rules every day. I definitely plan to take some ID for my son, 9, when we go in December. Even if they don't require it when we leave, who knows what could happen between then and when we come back ten days later.

 

[Bugaboo]

I confirmed a flight on SWA today and they told me to bring one of the following for my kids; a birth certificate; immunization record or their social security card. Hope this helps.