There is one class of passenger that has access to an Emirates lounge in Dubai that is not available to you and me. Who has access to this exclusive lounge? The people known as unaccompanied minors.
Children who are aged from 5 to 11 years old who are travelling without an adult are parked here. Those aged 12 to 15 can also use the facility, for a price. Good times for the young passengers, as the airline calls them.
Unaccompanied Minors Lounge
According to the Emirates press release, the newly upgraded lounge is open 24/7 and offers a bunch of things. For example, there are video games, drinks and snacks, comfortable seating areas, free wi-fi, and washrooms designed for kids. Just like a real airline lounge!
Overall Thoughts
This whole thing reeks of age discrimination, doesn’t it? I’m far too old to be able to enjoy this lounge, which is a shame. That being said, it would only be fun to play the games and eat all the food if there were no noisy kids in there at all, so maybe I’m not missing much!
Full marks to Emirates for making a nice space for these travellers. Full details of the UM service offered by the Dubai based airline are on their website here.
Have you ever flown as an unaccompanied minor or sent your kids off flying on their own? Which airlines do it well or not so well? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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All images via Emirates.
I never flew as one but my second cousin did passing through STL many years ago. He had a several hour layover so I headed out to the airport for a visit. It was SO long ago non-ticketed passengers could go airside without a ticket. TWA had a “room” for UM’s, which I would hardly call a lounge. A few sofa type seats, some gate type seats and a vending machine. I was gonna take Nathan for a bite to eat in the concourse but even though he identified me as his cousin I was not allowed to take him from the room. It ticked me off at the time but I get it. A guy in his late 20’s wanting to take a 10 year old for lunch. Looking back, TWA did the right thing. I did go out to get some food to bring back but we were always under the supervision of the UM Dragons. PS I changed his diapers many times as an infant and never felt any thing other than disgust.
It is a shame in most places in the world that non-ticketed passengers can’t go up to the gates. In Australia, it is still possible in places like Sydney where there are separate domestic terminals. Everyone goes through security, but it is fun having people able to see you right through to take-off or as soon as you’ve landed. Sounds like TWA knew what they were doing – I suppose all airlines who accept UMs do. I wish I’d flown as one, but then I only flew one return trip when I was a kid and didn’t start again until after High School.