[joshellington]

Also at 10, my parents put me on a cross-country flight by myself from PDX to Atlanta (to visit family). Note, this was in 1999, not some bygone era. I imagine there would be an Amber Alert nowadays if someone noticed me sitting by myself on an airplane.

[F2XDBeK92twqqAD]

Airlines literally have a special thing that costs a ton extra and results in the kid being monitored constantly by an airline employee. (I got to see the jet bridge being "driven" up to the airplane because the guy who was watching me never had his relief show up!) https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/special-assistance/unacc...

[bombcar]

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/special-assistance/unacc...

It still exists, and there are policies around it.

Amtrak does the same but starts at 12: https://www.amtrak.com/unaccompanied-minors-policy

[jack_h]

My parents divorced when I was very young and my dad ended up getting a job in a different state. So by age 4-5 I was flying alone between parents semi-regularly. This was in the late 80s to early 90s.

[alar44]

1999 was pre 9/11 and also 23 years ago. Most people didn't have cellphones and many people didn't even have the internet.

It's a bygone era.

[bitlax]

This is very common.