Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e676
 

Hello, my son is flying completely alone from Dublin to Melbourne with a 3hour stopover at Abu dhabi, he wont be leaving the airport and the flights are booked with Etihad airways, the question is as a uk citizen are there any visa requirements for my son at all at Abu dhabi? For the connecting flights? Also as he is 17 and flying completely alone will Abu dhabi officials have any problem with letting him through and onto the second flight due to his age etc? The travel agent stated this wouldn't be a problem when I booked it but I guess i need to clarify it, also.. As the agent stated there wouldn't be but just to clarify.being 17 and flying alone to Australia from Dublin could there be any problems? Also if there is anybody that has flown this route or connected at Abu dhabi without leaving the airport what happens? I'm such a worry, thanks. He is a British citizen

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

Have you thought to look at the Etihad website for whether he needs a visa, children (although at 17 he's not really a child) flying alone, etc?

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

Never heard of anyone need a visa if he / she is just in transit at the airport ?

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

My best friend went on a round the world trip on her own at 17 (and she has type 1 diabetes too!). She had no problem going anywhere.
If he won't be leaving the airport and is just in transit he won't need a visa.

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

Sorry, I just realised this doesn't sound very nice. What I meant was to take a look at the Etihad site for what's required for teens travelling alone.

I'm flying with Emirates next week and the first thing I did when I booked the ticket was to go to their website to see what might be required as far as visas and check in times, etc.

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

No need for a visa when in transit. Not been to Abu dhabi airport myself but have a look at it on the web. If it's massive like Dubai you might need to tell him to allow plenty of time to get to the next gate - especially if they have security at the gate again.

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

My son flew alone on the return leg of our Christmas holiday with Etihad via Abu dhabi when he was 16 without any issues. He didn't have to rush back to work like we did so was able to stay on an extra week in UK. Everything is well signposted but there can be a very long walk to the gates so I would advise your son to not hang about and to find his gate in good time and there will be additional security there as well before boarding. We all found Etihad quite good, having previously only used Singapore Airlines and would be happy to fly with them again.

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

I am just a real worry, will he need to pass through immigration when he arrives at Abu dhabi ? Or is there a different way on which he will just pass security when boarding the flight from Abu dhabi to mel? So it is ok for him to fly to Melbourne and return via Abu dhabi with no problems as he is 17 ? Also I was wondering, do I need to sign anything allowing him to fly at check in, or will my presence at the check in desk be enough? Thanks again everyone for your posts, and is there no visa needed then?

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

Are you transitting at any airport in Dubai or Abu dhabi ? If so is there anything required, thanks again for your post.

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

He his 17 years old near as dam a man get rid of the cotton wool and let him live.
I bet he hopes his mates are not reading this.

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

He only needs a visa for Australia, and from the title I guess he has a 676? He doesn't need one for Abu Dhabi as he isbn't entering the country.
He doesn't go through customs and immigration in Abu Dhabi, he stays airside until he boards his onward flight. Thus he doesn't need a visa there, his bag will be checked in all the way through from the UK, and the only Security he goes through is a check when he gets to the gate before boarding.

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

Hi as others have stated as he is a transit passenger, he does not require a visa. If for any reason he suddenly needed to enter the UAE then as a British Citizen he would be granted a 30 day visa on arrival at immigration. My children travelled frequently on their own throughout the middle east at a younger age than your son when we living out there. A good point of reference for the UAE re visas etc is the FCO website link here .

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

I'm transitting in Dubai. However, like others have said I will not be entering UAE, so do not need a visa.

Take a nice long read here http://www.etihadairways.com/sites/e...oreyoufly.aspx

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

For God's sake - he's 17! They are driving cars into pedestrians in Sydney at age 14. If he's not able to travel alone now he never will be.

Re: Advice needed, 17 year old flying from Dublin to Melbourne via Abu dhabi alone e6
 

You don't need to sign anything and you don't need to be there at the check in desk either! We weren't there at all when my son flew alone at age 16 from Heathrow to Townsville via Abu dhabi and Sydney. We weren't even available to be able to meet him at Townsville airport due to not being able to get any more time off from work. He managed just fine to find his way home. No visa needed at Abu dhabi.

When he lands in Abu Dhabi tell him to follow the signs for Flight Transfers and show them his boarding pass to find out which terminal and boarding gate he needs to get to if he's not sure. We landed in terminal 1 and took off from terminal 3, don’t worry it’s an easy walk to get from one terminal to the other. When you get there you have to go through security. Once through follow the signs to find his boarding gate (this bit can be a long walk) and sit and wait.With us we had to sit in the lounge right next door to the one shown on the departures board and about an hour before the departure time we had another hand luggage check and had to show our boarding pass and passport again in order to get into the lounge we actually departed from.

You need to stop worrying or you'll just pass on your anxiety to your son. My boy had absolutely no problems at all and had an additional leg to the journey.