Anyone Can Purchase Flights for Minors

[Kggarner78]

 I just found out that anyone  can purchase flights for a minor and doesn't have to show proof of being their parent or guardian.

So anyone that knows my kids names, wants to kidnap them can make reservations then get boarding passes with confirmation number then take them on a plane. Not okay in the slightest.

How in this day and age is this safe for minors? 

[TheMiddleSeat]

You are correct, minors can fly domestically without proof of a relationship with the adult they are traveling with. As there are many legitimate reasons a minor could travel with an adult they are not related to (sports teams, traveling with friends, etc) requiring an easily forged "permission slip" would be a burdensome requirement. There have been cases of suspected child trafficking and kidnapping that have been reported by flyers and flight crews based solely on people not looking alike, but that brings up a whole bunch of other issues.

--TheMiddleSeat

[DancingDavidE]

I haven't heard any studies or reports that air travel was a popular tool for abductors (other than within the dometic unit, but that's a different issue). An airport is so full of security, documentation is provided to such a high degree for the adult, and as @TheMiddleSeat mentioned the amount of false positives are probably more than the actual incidents.

Not that things can't be improved - if you had some specific ideas @Kggarner78 I'm not sure of the best venue to suggest them, either TSA or FAA? Direct to Southwest via the contact us link?

https://www.southwest.com/contact-us/contact-us.html?clk=GFOOTER-CUSTOMER-CONTACT-US

I guess Southwest is responsible for their own ticketing policies which could be more stringent in some cases, but these also have to line up with the federal requirements that aren't always open for change.