British Airways 'fly nannies' saved my childhood - I'll be sad to see them go

Sashaying through the departure gate with a red-lipped, court shoed stewardess, and a copy of Girl Talk under my arm, I felt different – only this time, in a good way

The airline announced that it would be ending its 'Skyflier Solo' programme (Getty Images)

Everyone hates my suitcase. Two years ago, the handle got jammed and refuses to go down. It sticks up stubbornly at half mast, claiming extra space on baggage reclaim belts and train luggage racks. When asked why I don’t replace it, I'll say the squat, maroon, pull-along is the perfect size. This is a lie: the case is too big for budget airline cabin baggage and not roomy enough for a week away.

My mum bought it for me in February 1999 when, aged seven I made my first trip as an unaccompanied minor on a British Airways flight.

On Friday, the airline announced that it would be ending its 'Skyflier Solo' programme, which has long ensured safe air passage of children between the ages of five and 12. The airline put in place the cost-cutting measure in response to dwindling demand, down by 21 per cent in 2015.

Google the service and you'd be forgiven for thinking BA only ferried under 12s from Hong Kong or New York to English boarding schools. But unremarkable kids donned those bright blue document lanyards to make unremarkable journeys, too. It’s on them that the real impact of scrapping this scheme will fall.

In the six months prior to my suitcase purchase, my parents moved from Sheffield to far-flung corners of the UK: Mum to the Dorset coast, Dad back home to County Derry, Northern Ireland. I wasn’t thrilled with this arrangement: ‘bloody southerners’ laughed at my short vowels, my Yorkshire-born rabbit died from heatstroke and my Dad was now in another country. The sweetener was that I would fly to visit him - and my tribe of extended family - every school holiday.

In fact, BA’s unaccompanied minor program was a decisive factor in my parents being able to take such different paths. For an extra £50 (before closing it rose to £90 for European and £108 for long-haul flights) I would be safely transported from my teary goodbye with my Mum in Southampton to the arrivals hall of Belfast City Airport, where I’d launch myself into my father’s arms.

Now, only over 12s can fly solo on BA, and on budget airline Easyjet, passengers need to be over 14. For split-parent families on modest incomes the options are, non-existent. Children aged five to 12 either fly with an accompanying adult, or not at all. My fear is that for parents who can't afford to pay for themselves, or for a nanny to accompany their children, it will be the latter.

For a humanities teacher and an organic vegetable farmer, money was very much an object - and had my parents to pay for two tickets for me to travel on a plane, I would likely have visited half as much as I did and had half the relationship with my father.

Studies suggest a lack of access to a parent can cause low self-esteem, lasting into adulthood. The Children’s Society also found those whose involvement with their father is dramatically reduced are 40 per cent more likely than average to suffer depression

For parents living apart from their children, are Skype and FaceTime plugging the gaps? A landmark 2011 ruling legitimised their role in modern parenting, by granting a divorced mother permission to move to Australia with her two children while their father remained in Britain. One of the key justifications was that that his relationship with the children wouldn’t be affected, as he could use video calling and messaging to keep in touch.

Families can reconcile separated strands in different ways - though I am grateful that in the age of analogue parenting, there were no options. If I didn’t get on a plane, I wouldn’t see my dad.

On a superficial level, to my eight-year-old eyes, flying solo on an aeroplane added a glamour to a difficult situation. Yes I was the suitcase kid, but sashaying through the departure gate with a red-lipped, court shoed stewardess, and a copy of Girl Talk under my arm, I felt different – only this time, in a good way. For the hour and 15 minutes it took to fly across the Irish sea I was proud to be that suitcase kid.