Traveling with niece

[wannabebelle]

We are taking our 4-year-old niece to Disney World in a couple of weeks. She does not have the same last name as we do.

Although the airline (Delta) does not have anything on their site about traveling with a child who is not yours, I read on another travel site that we should bring a notarized statement from her custodial parent (in this case, her parents are divorced and the custodial parent is her mother, my husband's sister). Is this overkill? Has anyone else done this? To further complicate the situation, her mother is now remarried, so their last names are different too. So even if I have a notarized statement from her, will I have problems proving that she is, in fact, the mother at the airport?

 

[NotUrsula]

As long as you are not crossing an intl. border, the airlines will not ask for any doc on her as long as she has a ticket in her name. They ask for ID for young children who are travelling as free lap babies, but do not ask again until the child is hs aged. (For intl. travel, all passengers have to show ID, with kids that is normally a passport.)

The notarized permission from your sister is to allow you to give permission for medical treatment. If any kind of accident or illness should happen, this will be essential. It doesn't really matter if the names are the same. You should also carry proof of her health insurance coverage.