calgary.ctv.ca

POSTED AT 4:52 PM Thursday, February 1, 2007

A new policy by Air Canada is bad news for parents who rely on the airline to fly their children alone.

New rules in effect on February 1st mean unaccompanied children won't be able to fly on some flights.

Parents can no longer purchase unaccompanied minor tickets that involve connecting flights for travel after April 1st.

The new rules affect all children aged five to 11 who are travelling alone.

They'll still be allowed on non-stop or direct air Canada and Jazz flights, as long as the child doesn't have to change planes.

Any tickets purchased before February 1st will be honoured by the airline regardless of the date of travel.

The airline says the changes comes after noticing that kids travel alone most during winter and spring breaks when there are the most weather delays.

It can be very stressful for the kids and airline staff who had to watch out for them.

The airline says it's the responsible thing to do.

Most other major carriers already had this policy in place.