Does anyone have experience with unaccompanied minors flying out of LHR to a US airport? Our kids will be flying LHR-ORD RT in the near future and they'll be unaccompanied (and under 15).

On the AA web site it says, "At airports outside the United States, you may be required to release your child upon check in at the ticket counter. In these instances, an American Airlines representative will escort your child to the departure gate and your child will remain under the supervision of an American Airlines representative until the flight departs."

In another place where it talks about international travel, it says, "At the airport you may be required to release your child upon check in at the ticket counter. In these instances, an American Airlines representative will escort your child to the departure gate and your child will remain under the supervision of an American Airlines representative until the flight departs."

From what the AAgent told me on the phone, it sounds like, in LHR, an AA rep will walk them through security and to the gate and stay with them until the plane departs, then we'll be permitted to get boarding passes to go through security and pick them up at their gate in ORD, then same in reverse- we're allowed to go with them to the gate in ORD to drop them off but no one can meet the plane at the gate in LHR.

But the same agent said it's like this at all airports outside the US. If that was the case, wouldn't the web site read, "At the airport you will be required to release your child...."??

Does anyone have experience with this and can verify? I did a search and didn't find the answer I was looking for. I just want to make sure I have a really clear picture about what's going to happen. It's more than slightly nerve-wracking to leave your kids in the care of strangers like this for the first time.

TIA,
GG