Connecting flight for senior

Those kinds of services are available at every airport and need to be requested in advance through your airline. Usually those services are free of charge. Call your airline's 800-number and ask.

Thanks for the reply. I am looking specifically for a person that would stay with my 85 year old mother until she boards the plane. She would be taking a flight from NYC to Amsterdam or Helsinki and then a connecting flight to Riga, Latvia. A family member would be picking her up in Riga. She is a very healthy and alert 85 year old but I am just reluctant to have her negotiate the airport alone. Even a young person can get confused when stressed and tired.

She did this trip a few years ago, but with my husband

and teenage daughter.

Again, I think the best policy would be to contact the airline. Remember that only staff with security clearance can be in the gate areas, so assistance would have to come from the airline or airport.

I've no experience with Helsinki, but Schipol is a great airport and I think the staff would probably be excellent - all I've encountered speak excellent English. And she could probably managed on her own at at her own pace.

Good tips would be to leave plenty of time between the flights as Schipol is a very 'long' airport and she may have to go through Schengen immigrations. Also, I think that Schipol like many European airports is silent, meaning that no announcements are made about flights - you have to keep an eye on the boards for gate/time changes. Finally, she may have to go through security/ID check again at the gate, so it's a good idea to proceed to the gate at the appointed time - even if it's more than an hour before the flight.

Kate

to continue...

Now that I think about it, they probably could not have someone stay with her the entire time - unless it's a minor or someone who is mentally incapacitated, I don't think airlines/airports have the manpower (personpower?) to have someone for constant supervision.

However, they could surely provide her with someone to transport her next gate (possibly getting her through immigrations quicker if she can't stand for long periods of time), and alert the gate ticketing staff to make sure she gets to the plane OK.

I hope she has a great trip!
Kate

Airlines deal with this sort of situation on a daily basis.

Do call ahead and let the Airline know that an Unaccompanied Senior will require Special Attention. Also confirm this at check-in.
Passenger Service Agents will provide the assistance she requires. She should also speak to the Incharge Flight Attendant upon boarding. It's our responsibility to help co-ordinate such assistance. We have it all documented in our Manifest. We discuss it in our "Pre-Flight Safety Briefing".
We all know what's what and who's who in the zoo long before any passengers set foot on board. We touch base with you at some point during the flight, usually as soon as possible after departure.

For some, it sounds complicated, but for us, it's pretty routine.