Air Canada will no longer let children fly alone on flights that involve stopovers and connectors, CBC News learned Wednesday.

'I think this will actually be quite disastrous.'

—Brian Jenkins of Fathers Are Capable Too

Starting April 1, children aged five to 12 will only be allowed to travel by themselves on non-stop flights. Children under age five have never been allowed to fly alone.

More than 45,000 children fly alone with Air Canada every year, many of them travelling during the March school break and the Christmas holidays.

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told CBC News that the airline is changing its policy because the weather is so unpredictable during March break and Christmas. As a result, flights are delayed, sometimes overnight, which is hard on children who fly solo.

"We've reviewed our UM [Unaccompanied Minor] Program and we determined that caring for children travelling alone on connecting flights is disproportionately complex and costly," Fitzpatrick said.

"The biggest demand for the program usually comes at the same time as when there's peak travel periods in the winter as kids go to see their parents for Christmas, but that combines with times when the weather might cause delays."

The new policy is in line with WestJet's rules, and eases "a lot of burden on our operations and our staff," he said, adding that limiting the service to non-stop flights "will keep a good program viable."

Before the policy change, children aged five to 11 were allowed to fly alone on all Air Canada flights, provided they registered with Air Canada's Unaccompanied Minors Program.

The program provides the children with an escort — usually a flight attendant or an Air Canada agent.

Solo passengers between the ages of 12 and 17 have the option of signing up for the program, but it is not mandatory.

If they do choose to register for the program, they will also be restricted to non-stop flights under the new guidelines.

Under the new policy, Air Canada will charge $75 per trip for children flying in the unaccompanied children program. The fee had been $60.

The changes are not yet reflected on the airline's website.

A parent advocacy group says the change will be hard on children who travel from one city to another to visit their divorced or separated parents.

"I think this will actually be quite disastrous," said Brian Jenkins, a spokesperson for Fathers Are Capable Too, which lobbies for the rights of parents without custody.