Accompanied Children

  • Children from 2 years but not reached 12 years of age will be accepted for transportation when accompanied by a passenger at least 15 years of age (applicable child fare shall be charged).
  • They must have the regular passenger tickets and occupy an individual passenger seat.
  • Two children traveling on one seat is not allowed and they shall not be assigned for the exit row seats.
  • If a child is under 2 years of age, he or she can travel on an adult travelers' lap with an infant discount ticket. A seat can be requested and reserved for an infant with an additional charge.
  • If a child turns 2 years or more during the trip, a child discount will be applied on the whole itinerary or the remaining of the partially used ticket and a seat will be allocated for the child. The infant discount does not apply in this case.

Unaccompanied Children  

  • SAUDIA reserves the right to refuse travel to any unaccompanied child.
  • Unaccompanied children will not be accepted for travel on SAUDIA flights if they are less than 5 years old.
  • All reservations must be confirmed through to the final destination.
  • The flight schedule must not include any scheduled overnight stops unless one of the parents/guardian has made private arrangements for the child to be meet him and escort him to and from the airport where the night stop is occurring.
  • If an interline journey is involved, the connecting time interval should not exceed 6 hours. SAUDIA will not be responsible for any connecting expenses for unaccompanied children.
  • Unaccompanied children must be escorted by one of the parents/ guardian to and from the airports of arrival and destination.
  • Other airlines have differing conditions for the acceptance of unaccompanied children and may have different age limits.
  • The adult traveler's ticket is charged for the unaccompanied child and the Child Discount is not granted.
  • Please note that tickets cannot be issued to unaccompanied children through call centers and telephone sales.

New Born Babies

They can be accepted after the first week of their birthday. For babies of more than 48 hours age shall be accepted provided that they must obtain a medical clearance stating that the baby is in a good health and does not need incubator or medical oxygen.

Immigration procedures for children under 18s who are traveling to/from South Africa

The procedures are as below:

A child (under the age of 18 ) is traveling with his/her both parents; should produce:

  • Unabridged birth certificate of the child reflecting the full information of both parents in arrival and departure through The Republic of South Africa.

A child (under the age of 18) is traveling with one of his/her parents; should produce:

  • Unabridged birth certificate for the child reflecting the full information of the parents in arrival and departure through The Republic.
  • Consent, in the form of an affidavit from the other parent registered as a parent on the birth certificate of the child, authorizing him or her to enter into or depart from The Republic with the child he or she is travelling with.
  • A court order granting full parental responsibilities and rights or legal guardianship in respect of the child, if he or she is the parent or legal guardian of the child.
  • Where applicable, a death certificate of the other parent registered as a parent of the child on the birth certificate.

A passenger is travelling with a child (under the age of 18) who is not his/her biological child, he or she should produce :

  • A copy of the unabridged birth certificate of the child reflecting the full information of both parents in arrival and departure through The Republic.
  • An affidavit from the parents or legal guardian of the child confirming that he or she has permission to travel with the child.
  • Copies of the identity documents or passports of the parents or legal guardian of the child.
  • The contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child.

A child is traveling as unaccompanied minor, should produce:

  • Proof of consent from one or both of his or her parents or legal guardian in the form of a letter or affidavit for the child to travel into or depart from The Republic.
  • A letter from the person who is to receive the child in The Republic, containing his or her residential address and contact details where the child will be residing.
  • A copy of the identity document or valid passport and visa or permanent residence permit of the person who is to receive the child in The Republic.
  • The contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child.

Notes:

  • Travellers to South Africa must be in possession of a passport with two unused pages required for endorsements.
  • Passports must be readable by passports reader devices at airport.
  • Copies of documents should be certified by a Commissioner of Oaths or any delegated authority.

Therefore, all staff are requested to inform passengers who are traveling with children under 18s to The Republic to South Africa, to obtain a fully unabridged birth certificate, to avoid legal accountability.

For more information on the new regulation through The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa, the document can downloaded through this link http://www.dha.gov.za/images/final_Immigration_Regulations_2014_1.pdf

Immigration procedures for children under 18s who are traveling to/from South Africa

The procedures are as below:

A child (under the age of 18 ) is traveling with his/her both parents; should produce:

  • Unabridged birth certificate of the child reflecting the full information of both parents in arrival and departure through The Republic of South Africa.

A child (under the age of 18) is traveling with one of his/her parents; should produce:

  • Unabridged birth certificate for the child reflecting the full information of the parents in arrival and departure through The Republic.
  • Consent, in the form of an affidavit from the other parent registered as a parent on the birth certificate of the child, authorizing him or her to enter into or depart from The Republic with the child he or she is travelling with.
  • A court order granting full parental responsibilities and rights or legal guardianship in respect of the child, if he or she is the parent or legal guardian of the child.
  • Where applicable, a death certificate of the other parent registered as a parent of the child on the birth certificate.

A passenger is travelling with a child (under the age of 18) who is not his/her biological child, he or she should produce :

  • A copy of the unabridged birth certificate of the child reflecting the full information of both parents in arrival and departure through The Republic.
  • An affidavit from the parents or legal guardian of the child confirming that he or she has permission to travel with the child.
  • Copies of the identity documents or passports of the parents or legal guardian of the child.
  • The contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child.

A child is traveling as unaccompanied minor, should produce:

  • Proof of consent from one or both of his or her parents or legal guardian in the form of a letter or affidavit for the child to travel into or depart from The Republic.
  • A letter from the person who is to receive the child in The Republic, containing his or her residential address and contact details where the child will be residing.
  • A copy of the identity document or valid passport and visa or permanent residence permit of the person who is to receive the child in The Republic.
  • The contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child.

Notes:

  • Travellers to South Africa must be in possession of a passport with two unused pages required for endorsements.
  • Passports must be readable by passports reader devices at airport.
  • Copies of documents should be certified by a Commissioner of Oaths or any delegated authority.

Therefore, all staff are requested to inform passengers who are traveling with children under 18s to The Republic to South Africa, to obtain a fully unabridged birth certificate, to avoid legal accountability.

For more information on the new regulation through The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa, the document can downloaded through this link http://www.dha.gov.za/images/final_Immigration_Regulations_2014_1.pdf

Medical Consideration

Young passengers

Young passengers between 12 to 15 years may be treated as UM,s upon request of their parents or other authorized persons, if there is any doubt of the minor’s ability in means of traveling alone, or if the minor is accompanying another child under 12 years of age.

Acceptance of Infants

  • Infants under 2 years of age will be accepted when accompanied by a passenger at least 15 years of age. One adult can escort only one infant.
  • If allowed for carriage, the infants aged between 8 days to 23 months inclusive, as of the date of travel cannot travel in their own seat and must sit on an adult's lap (one infant per adult).If a passenger is traveling with more than one infant, applicable child fare is charged for the second infant. The infants shall be assigned on a seat where a supplementary oxygen mask is available.
  • If the infant reaches the age of 2 years prior to their return journey, they must pay the applicable child fare, taxes, fees and charges for that part of the journey.
  • Proof of age is required. The parent must present the infant's valid travel document at the check-in counters and boarding gate.
  • There is no checked or cabin baggage allowance for infants at 10% fare; however one fully collapsible pushchair per child is carried free of charge and does not need to be pre-booked. Additional infant equipment (maximum 10kg.) such as car/booster seats and travel costs may be carried. Baby strollers must be tagged during check-in if it is allowed to carry as unchecked baggage.
  • The maximum number of infants is determined according to the number of decompression oxygen mask, infant life vest which are available on each flight.
  • It is not permitted to place more than one infant in each occupied section of the row as there is only one additional oxygen mask in each section( e.g. (03 adults + one infant) may occupy 3 seat section).

New Born Babies

They can be accepted after the first week of their birthday. For babies of more than 48 hours age shall be accepted provided that they must obtain a medical clearance stating that the baby is in a good health and does not need incubator or medical oxygen.

Blind and Deaf:

a) Blind or Deaf (Single Incapacitation)

  • Are not considered incapacitated passenger.
  • No limitation in case they are traveling alone.
  • In case they are traveling in groups, no limitation to their numbers but it is necessary to have a medically fit attendant. (A group means more than one person in the PNR).

b) Blind and Deaf (Double Incapacitation)

  • They are considered incapacitated.
  • There are limitations to their number according to each aircraft type.

Medical clearance

The transportation of patients who require special medical attention on SAUDIA flights or on other companies involved in the transport need to carry a Medical Statement Information Model (MEDIF) filled by the passenger’s attending physician or issued by the medical services to the transportation companies. Note that the model is only valid for (10-30-90 ) days from the date of signing by a competent doctor.