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A 12-year-old boy has raised eyebrows in Western Australia after catching a flight from Perth to Adelaide by himself.
The boy, who was found “safe and well” after disappearing from his Leederville home early on Wednesday morning, had managed to purchase a Jetstar ticket to Adelaide three months before he vanished, as reported by The West Australian.
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According to Jetstar’s policies, 12-year-olds are considered able to travel independently on domestic flights provided they can show they are attending or enrolled in secondary school, and do not require a parent or guardian to be present at check-in.
Jetstar said the boy met all the requirements to board the flight under the airline’s Young Person Travelling Alone (YPTA) policy, including having the correct documentation.
“For a young passenger aged 12 years or over, proof of age can be acceptable as proof of secondary school enrolment, because in Australia and New Zealand, anyone 12 years and over is generally required to be enrolled in secondary school,” the airline’s website says.
Jetstar policies hold that parents or guardians do need to be present when a minor seeks to board an international flight.
“If no parent or guardian is present at check-in and our staff have reason to believe the young passenger may not have permission from a parent or guardian to travel alone, the young passenger may be refused check-in until permission to travel alone can be confirmed,” the Jetstar website says.
WA Premier Roger Cook, however, has questioned why nobody was suspicious of the unaccompanied boy before he boarded the plane to Adelaide.
“I think it’s extraordinary that a minor could so easily get themselves a ticket for a flight across the country,” Cook said.
“Surely it raises flags for any airline when you have a small child, a 12-year-old in this case, wanting to purchase a ticket.
“Now, we understand unaccompanied minors do travel on flights, that’s a typical and regular thing, but a minor travelling alone without any parental supervision, or without any guardian or carer oversight in the transaction, strikes me as very unusual.”
Jetstar says thousands of young people travel on its flights every year under the YPTA policy, which is the same as that of other airlines including Virgin Australia.
