Do free or low-cost flights pique your interest? Military families can travel all over the world using Space-A travel. Read on to learn all about Space-A and how it works.
What is Space-A travel?
Space-A stands for Space Available. Service members and their families can travel on military (and sometimes commercial) flights for free or for a very small fee.
The catch? There are no guarantees there will be a flight. If there is a flight, there is no guarantee you will be able to board. The mission always comes first.
If seats are available after all cargo and duty personnel are loaded, if there is no danger to a passenger, and if the pilot feels like it, then there is a chance that you could get a seat. It is a lot of “ifs”, but people do get to travel plenty through Space-A.
If you have the time and patience to wait on a Space-A flight, you can travel all around the world for a fraction of what a civilian airline would cost.
Click here to find more Space-A resources for military travelers.
What Space-A category are you?
If there are seats available on a Space-A flight, potential passengers are selected by category, normally just referred to as CAT, and by sign-up date and time.
There are six categories of Space-A travel, and you’ll be placed into one of these categories, each with specific requirements. Passengers placed into Category 1 receive the highest priority and are selected first, then Category 2, and so on.
If you need some travel inspiration before booking a Space-A flight, check out these great OCONUS military travel locations.
Category 1
Emergency leave unfunded travel. This is for bona fide immediate family emergencies only, intended to get the service member or dependent to their location as quickly as possible, as determined by DoD directive 1327.5. Travelers may not use this privilege in leiu of a funded travel entitlement.
Category 2
Sponsors in an Environmental Morale Leave (EML) status and their dependents traveling with them, also in EML status. EML is available to military members and dependents living in difficult or isolated conditions. In some cases, dependents may travel unaccompanied on Cat 2 status.
Category 3
Ordinary Leave, house hunting permissive TDY, Medal of Honor holders, and foreign military. Must be ON LEAVE to sign up for a Space-A flight.
Category 4
Unaccompanied dependents on EML and DODDS teachers on EML during summer.
Category 5
Permissive TDY (non-house hunting) students, command-sponsored dependents.
Category 6
Retirees, dependents, Reservists, and ROTC
For more detailed information on these categories please visit the official AMC Travel page.
Written By: John W. Jackson Jr. with www.pcsgrades.com
