Unaccompanied minors
 

My nieces aged 12 and 13 are flying in october on TG DEl-BKK and MAA-BKK to spend some time with our family here. they will have all the paperwork. flights arrive at the same time

Does anyone have any experience with the efficiency and actual operation of the THAI unaccompanied minor drill at BKK airport? Any tips or things to watch out for so that there are no problems? they arrive on diffferent flights but at the same time early morning 0625 am.....

The important factor is to keep these two operations seperate, otherwise it will take the slightest delay in either flights to create havoc. The girls will be tagged and handed from one carer to another, the key is to have one delivery point in Bangkok. I once tried to have two lots of passengers, one pax, an unaccompanied minor picked up by the hotel from two different flights, it was a disaster, I have learnt to stay at the service desk and let them come to me

I think having a Bangkok delivery point, per BKKROP's advice, is a big risk. I would plan on receiving your nieces at BKK. Where to receive them? Speak to TG and meet wherever they require or suggest - don't try to make special arrangements. By sticking to their standard operating procedures you will minimize the chances of problems.

Personally, I would not leave the airport pickup to the hotel - too risky if your nieces are being received by people they cannot positively ID and one more thing to go wrong. How do they or the TG staff know the hotel receivers are bona fide? Call me paranoid, but precautions aren't much use after the event.

The Thai's are wonderful with children and I would imagine TG will take great care of your UMs.

Hope all goes well. If you get a chance, please debrief us on UM procedures at BKK for the benefit of others.

I have no experience with UM - but I can not stress the point of being at the airport to pick them up. I would arrive at the airport early and follow the directions/advice of TG staff as to where to meet them.

For those whom have no experience in sending children or medical patients on airlines, there is a form required by airlines that identifies the senders and the recipients of the passengers. There are many other rules also, no transfer flights, no late flights, and the list goes on, so the "problems" suggested can not happen if there is only one flight and one delivery.

In so many cases it is not the parents or the relative that picks up the passengers, so if as the OP advised that there are two passengers arriving on two different flights, it is important that there is the one meeting place decided on and he/she makes it clear they or their drivers will not depart this location.

In theory, nothing will go wrong. In practice, things go wrong. To suggest problems "can not happen" if only one flight is involved is naive. We're talking about young children here and I am assuming they do not know their own way around Bangkok.

Accordingly:

1. Do not "decide on" a meeting place. Instead, ask TG for the designated handover point and meet your nieces there.
2. Do not specify a Bangkok meeting place, this is just asking for problems (you may never see your nieces again)
3. Ideally, collect your nieces yourself or have some other 100% trusted person do the collection

Please be wary of those who claim to know better than the airline and thus suggest imposing alternative systems for UMs.

Incorrect: transfers/flight connections at BKK are allowed. there is no restriction on what time the flight departs or leaves either (late flights?).

correct: transfers are allowed, and this maybe the reason why you have to pay USD 60 per segment / flight and not per travel (i.e. from India to Australia). As there is more work involved to arrange for and supervise a child during transit, they charge "per flight".

Slightly OT, but relevant in terms of general attitudes airline's take to UMs.

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalk...one-was-right/

Thanks people for the very useful info. Of course I AND my wife will pick them up and will speak to TG beforehand