Airline guidlines travelling with babies and toddlers

Flying with children is a bit of a minefield, especially when it is your first trip abroad. The part that stresses me out the most is the security check, especially with the pushchair, baby or/and inquisitive toddler or even a toddler like my youngest, who when he was three bleeped through the scanner and would not let the security guards use their hand scanner on him. He screamed and screamed creating a rather embarrassing scene! However, this was such a small part of our adventure and well worth the little bit of stress at the time to have a holiday together as a family.

If you are about to embark on booking your first flight for your family holiday with a baby or toddler or two or three try not to let the little stresses put you off. Staff at the airport and flight cabin staff are usually really helpful and sympathetic to your needs. Most airlines let you board early with children and allow an extra bit of cabin luggage for toys, nappies, gadgets and gizmos. They also often allow you to take pushchairs to the boarding gate too.

When our little ones were really small I generally just travelled with a sling, I found it so much easier than the pushchair as my hands were free to shop and read etc. As they got bigger the pushchair was a godsend, especially for little naps and feed times.

Major airlines have similar guidelines and regulations to one another but there are some small variations. For an overview of the three main airlines in the UK for short haul flights to Europe visit our blog where we have broken down the basics for you for airlines British Airways, Easy Jet and Ryan Air.

Alternatively visit their websites directly here

British Airways

Easyjet

Ryanair