Parents with busy schedules have discovered that "mailing"
children to relatives during the Spring Festival may be the best
option.
Li Ying, an employee at a Beijing IT firm, just "mailed" her
11-year-old son to Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou
Province, on Thursday.
"I have lots of work to do in Beijing during the Spring Festival
this year but my parents down in south badly need to cuddle their
grandson," Li said.
"I decided to let my son fly alone to give him a chance to learn
self-reliance."
However, Li's son will not feel lonely in the air because dozens
of his peers will also be flying solo, with stewardesses looking
after them.
Recognizing a rise in the number of kids traveling alone, many
airlines have launched special services for children between 5 and
12.
Air staff take care of the children during their flights, help
them find baggage after landing and hand them to their relatives at
the doorway of their destination airports.
The Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou of South China's Guangdong
Province has received an average of more than 100 children
traveling alone every day since January 11, airport staff said on
Friday.
The airport in Guangzhou, one of the country's economic and
employment hubs, saw a record 147 kids arrive alone on
Thursday.
Most of them came from big cities including Beijing, Shanghai,
Chengdu and Chongqing.
Some airlines have even established special lounges for children
and elderly people travelling alone, airport staff said.
(China Daily January 17, 2004)