AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION INSTRUCTIONS
FOR PARENTS WHO SELECTED THE OPTIONAL AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION SERVICE

AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION SERVICE
Cayuga provides transportation service to and from four (4) International Airports. On arrival day, our staff will escort your child from the airline’s terminal gate to Camp Cayuga. On departure day, our staff will accompany your child from camp to his airline’s terminal gate, and remain at the airport until your child’s plane is in the air.

HOW TO SIGN-UP
This service is optional and advance registration is required. If you didn’t register for this service on your child’s enrollment application, you can do so now by completing the Airport Transportation Service Request Form located on our website’s “Camp Forms” page or click here.

AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION ITINERARY FORM
After making your child’s flight reservations, be sure to complete & return the Airport Transportation Itinerary Form. This Form is located on our website’s “Camp Forms” page or click here. The Itinerary Form is due 2 weeks prior to your child’s arrival. Please attach a recent photograph (2” by 2”) of your child to this form.

AIRPORTS AVAILABLE
The camp’s Transportation Service is available from these 4 international airports:

WilkesBarre/Scranton Airport

(Avoca, Pennsylvania) is the closest airport being only 35 miles (1 hour drive) from camp. However, it’s the smallest airport on our list and your child will likely need a connecting flight to arrive here.

Newark Airport (Newark, New Jersey)

has more non-stop direct flights than sBarre/Scranton Airport and is closer to camp than LaGuardia and JFK Airports.

JFK Airport (Jamaica, New York)

and LaGuardia Airport (Flushing, New York) are located in heavy-traffic areas of New York and are farthest from camp. Flights to/from JFK and LaGuardia may cost less than Newark Airport, but your child’s ride to camp is about 1½ hours longer.

AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION FEE
The roundtrip airport transportation fee applies to flights that arrive & depart on camp session dates:

WilkesBarre/Scranton Airport: $120.

Newark International Airport: $180.

JFK International Airport: $210.

LaGuardia International Airport: $210.

SERVICE IS AVAILABLE ON ALL DAYS
Cayuga will provide transportation to/from the above airports on any given day. However, flights that take place on days other than camp session dates incur an extra charge:

Newark Airport: extra $30 one-way.

JFK Airport: extra $50 one-way.

LaGuardia Airport: extra $50 one-way.

WilkesBarre/Scranton: no extra fee.

FLIGHT ARRIVAL TIMES
Please do NOT schedule arrivals before 11:30am at JFK or LaGuardia Airport; before 10:30am at Newark Airport; or before 7:30am at WilkesBarre/Scranton Airport. Flights that arrive during these prohibited times will incur an extra charge. (See “Fee for Early Arrivals” section below.) To avoid arriving at camp in the late evening, do not schedule flights that arrive after 4:00pm at JFK and LaGuardia; after 5:00pm at Newark; and after 8:00pm at WilkesBarre/Scranton.

FEE FOR "EARLY ARRIVALS"
Camp policy prohibits Cayuga Airport Staff from departing camp anytime before 5:30am and when necessary, requires the staff member to stay in a hotel near the airport the night beforehand. Cayuga’s Airport Staff depart camp 6 hours before the flight’s arrival time for JFK and LaGuardia Airports; 5 hours for Newark Airport; and 2 hours for WilkesBarre/Scranton Airport. (FYI: Cayuga’s Airport Staff is expected to be at your child’s gate about 1 hour before the flight’s scheduled arrival.) Therefore, if your child’s flight arrives before 11:30am at JFK or LaGuardia; before 10:30am at Newark; or before 7:30am at WilkesBarre/Scranton, the Cayuga Airport Staff must stay at a hotel. In this case, you’ll be charged an “early arrival” fee that is equal to the cost of the hotel room. This is estimated at $100 to $135.

FLIGHT DEPARTURE TIMES
Please do NOT schedule departures before 1:00pm at JFK or LaGuardia Airports; before 12:00pm at Newark Airport; or before 9:00am at WilkesBarre/Scranton Airport. Flights that depart during these prohibited times will incur an extra charge. (See “Fee for Early Departures” section below.)

FEE FOR "EARLY DEPARTURES"
Camp policy prohibits campers from departing camp anytime before 6:30am and when necessary, requires the campers to stay in a hotel near the airport the night beforehand. Campers depart camp 6½ hours before the flight’s departure time for JFK and LaGuardia Airports; 5½ hours for Newark Airport; and 2½ hours for WilkesBarre/Scranton Airport. (Note: Campers check-in about 1½ hour before the flight’s scheduled departure.) Therefore, if your child’s flight departs before 1:00pm at JFK or LaGuardia; before 12:00pm at Newark; or before 9:00am at WilkesBarre/Scranton Airport, your child (and the camp’s airport staff) must stay at a hotel. In this case, you’ll be charged an “early departure” fee that is equal to the cost of your camper’s hotel room plus ½ the cost of the staff member’s room. This is estimated at $150 to $200.

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS
Campers who are departing on international flights require about 1 extra hour of travel time from camp in order to check-in at least 2 hours before the flight’s scheduled departure. Therefore, all international flight departure times should be after 2:00pm at JFK or LaGuardia, and after 1:00pm at Newark Airport.

LUGGAGE ON DOMESTIC FLIGHTS
Campers traveling on domestic flights should consider shipping some of their luggage to camp rather than transporting it on the plane. Most airlines limit passengers to 2 bags with a maximum weight of 50 lbs each. If campers check-in more than 2 bags or if a bag weighs more than 50 lbs, the extra fee charged by the airline can be as much as $50 per bag! Since camp policy also limits campers to 2 bags, we recommend shipping some of the luggage to camp in advance. This does not apply to international flights. If you don’t ship any luggage to/from camp, you should anticipate your child having heavier bags or an extra bag on departure day, and should deposit an extra $50 in his Camp Bank for the airline’s luggage fees. The US Post Office, UPS (United Parcel Service), and Federal Express all service our area. If you ship your camper’s luggage to camp, we’ll store it in safekeeping and deliver it on arrival day. Regarding shipping from camp: It’s the parent’s responsibility to make arrangements for pick-up and payment for the service. The camp office staff will gladly weigh and measure the luggage items, if need be. Let us know the pick-up date & time, so we can have the luggage accessible for pick-up.

AIRLINE’S UNACCOMPANIED MINOR PROGRAM (UMP)
All campers traveling by plane should be enrolled in the Airline’s Unaccompanied Minor Program (UMP), where an airline representative assumes the responsibility of “parental oversight” which includes supervising your child beyond the security checkpoint. Since only passengers are permitted beyond the security checkpoint, the UMP is needed for both arrival & departure flights to insure your child is properly supervised. It’s become increasingly difficult for our staff members to get beyond the airport security checkpoint. However, the UMP improves our chances of receiving security clearance by allowing our staff member to take the place of the airline representative. Whether “parental oversight” is provided by the airline or by Cayuga, it makes no difference to the airline as long as you pay their UMP fee. The UMP typically costs about $50 each way. Note: Some airlines will only accept children (ages 5 to 14) in their UMP on “nonstop” flights.
 
NAME OF ASSIGNED STAFF MEMBER: When you enroll your child in the UMP, the airline will ask you for the name of the individual who is meeting your child at the airport. The airline representative who has “parental oversight” of your child will ask this individual for ID before he relinquishes his responsibility. Since airport staff assignments are not finalized until a day or two prior to the arrival/departure date, for now use the name “Brian Buynak” (Camp Director). The staff member, who is assigned to escort your child, will be given written authorization from Brian indicating he’s responsible for escorting your child to/from the airport. In the past, the authorization letter prepared by Brian has always been accepted by the airlines.

GET CONFIRMATION: When you enroll your child in the Unaccompanied Minor Program (UMP), be sure to get written confirmation and give us a copy. If the UMP is indicated on the plane ticket, that’s sufficient. If we have no written confirmation of the UMP or if it’s not posted on the airline’s computer, it can take up to 45 minutes to enroll your camper in the UMP when he checks-in. Please help us avoid this delay by making the proper UMP arrangements at the time you purchase your ticket. If you do not pay for the UMP, the airline will require your child to pay the UMP fee at check-in because minors are not permitted beyond the security checkpoint without “parental oversight”.

AIRPORT ARRIVAL PROCEDURES
Please inform your child of our Airport Arrival Procedures, which are as follows: A Cayuga staff member will greet your camper at the terminal gate (where passengers get off the plane) and escort him/her to the baggage claim area. For international flights we'll likely greet your camper after the immigration process, not at the gate where he/she exited the airplane. (Our intention in all cases is to greet your child as he/she exits the plane.) After collecting the luggage, our staff member will instruct your child to call you collect from an airport payphone - to let you know he/she has arrived safely. Remember to tell your child the telephone number you'd like him/her to call when he/she arrives at the airport. If you'd like a call to your cell phone, be sure your child has a calling card (since cell phones can't accept collect calls). Afterwards, we'll load the luggage into the camp vehicle and drive your child directly to camp. The vehicle doesn't make any other stops along the way and there are usually 2 staff members assigned to each camp vehicle. The staff members who are assigned to accompany your child to camp are usually the same staff who accompany your child to the airport at the end of his/her camp session. Campers traveling on the same flight (or arriving within the same time frame) may be assigned to travel in the same camp vehicle to camp. Upon arrival at Cayuga, your camper will report to the infirmary for a cursory physical exam by the camp nurses to insure no contagious conditions enter the camp (head lice).

Please explain to your camper that our staff members will be wearing a red Camp Cayuga staff T-shirt and will be holding a "Camp Cayuga" sign. The Cayuga staff member will have in his possession your child's Airport Transportation Itinerary Form, a photograph of your child, a photocopy of your camper's enrollment application, an authorization form signed by the Camp Director, and his personal picture ID. Both male & female Cayuga staff are assigned to these airport responsibilities.