How to Fly with a Baby or Toddler: Everything You Should Know

Jul 30

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Tips for Flying with a Baby

Flying with a baby for the first time can seem overwhelming! There’s a lot to pack and prepare for a baby, let alone doing it in an unfamiliar environment with hundreds of eyes on you. We’ve flown with our babies several times over the past couple of years and have learned the best strategies and tips for getting through the airport with a baby and flying with a baby. Whether you’re traveling to a national park with your baby or traveling to the beach with baby, I’ve got you covered to help make preparing for the flight, moving through the airport, boarding the flight, and enduring the flight with a baby more efficient and less stressful.

How to Purchase an Airline Ticket for an Infant

For children under 2, you can either add them as a lap child or purchase a seat. There are pros and cons to both. Purchasing a seat allows you to have more room for your family and more space for airplane activities for your baby. If you’re breastfeeding your baby and plan to breastfeed on the airplane, purchasing a ticket for your baby also allows for more room and privacy for feeding. Some parents feel safer bringing a car seat on the plane. A car seat can also help keep your child in their seat and signal that its travel time.

Adding your child under 2 years old as a lap child means the child will be sitting on your lap for the duration of the flight. The biggest pro of this route is that it’s less costly. some airlines allow a lap child on for free while others charge around 10% if the adult ticket price. Airplanes tickets are expensive so totally makes sense to save a few hundred dollars by adding your baby as a lap child versus purchasing them a separate seat on the plane. If my child wasn’t in their car seat, I feel like they’d end up on my lap anyways so for us it makes sense to go this route. For privacy when breastfeeding I take my nursing cover on the plane and sit in the window seat. My husband is usually flying with me so he will sit in the middle seat between me and the stranger in aisle seat.

Make sure you see your child’s name on your reservation and if not, call ahead to get them added. Even if you didn’t purchase a separate seat your child will need a boarding ticket, per TSA regulations. Some airlines will also require proof of age to ensure they’re under two years old. Recently we traveled to Glacier National Park with our 6 month old and 2.5 year old and even though our baby was clearly under 2, we were asked to provide proof of age at check in. We had left her birth certificate in the car but luckily I had taken a photo of her last check up papers from the pediatrician’s office, which had her name and date of birth on it. That was a close call! You’ll need to have a passport for your baby if flying internationally.

What to Pack for a Flight with Baby

When flying with our baby we typically check a large family suitcase and just bring the diaper bag onto the airplane as a carry on. Using the diaper bag as a carry on, I’ll pack enough diapers and wipes for the flight plus a couple extras in case our suitcase would get lost, an extra outfit, a lightweight blanket as it tends to be cold on the airplane, my nursing cover, sanitizing wipes, pacifiers, and a few activities and toys to keep your baby busy on the airplane. If it’s a late night flight I’ll also pack pajamas and either change them before we get on the flight or change them on the airplane depending on the length of the flight.

There’s a lot of stuff that comes with traveling with a baby, but it gets easier to pack for baby over time. Download the baby packing checklist to help get you started with efficiently packing for your baby.

Baby Wearing vs. Bringing a Stroller Through the Airport

There’s no one “right” way to travel with a baby — it really depends on your child’s age, how many kids you’re juggling, and what your travel day actually looks like.

A baby carrier can be a game-changer for quick, simple airport days. If you have a direct flight or a short travel day, wearing your baby through security and the terminal can be the easiest option. You can then check your stroller at check-in and pick it up at your final destination.

A stroller, on the other hand, is incredibly helpful when you have a long layover, a toddler who won’t tolerate being carried, or multiple kids who need containment (and snacks).

Why I Now Almost Always Bring a Travel Stroller

After traveling with both a toddler and a baby, I’ve learned that the real upgrade isn’t choosing stroller vs. carrier, it’s having a setup that flexes with your family.

On trips like Glacier National Park, we brought a lightweight double umbrella stroller (or single version of the umbrella stroller, depending on your family’s needs) through the airport. We gate-checked the stroller, and since we had a long layover in a larger airport, we chose to have it routed to our layover destination instead of sending it straight through to the final stop. That flexibility mattered way more than I expected.

I’ll be honest — airlines are not gentle with gear. I would never bring a high-end stroller I love through the airport and risk it getting damaged. These strollers are inexpensive but

Why I Recommend the Zoe Stroller for Travel

If you’re debating what stroller to bring, I’d strongly consider a lightweight option like the Zoe stroller. It’s become one of my go-to travel picks because it’s:

Lightweight enough to navigate airports without stress
Compact enough for gate checking
Flexible enough to grow with your family (single, double, or even triple setups depending on the model)

Read my full Zoe stroller review here.

Tips for Getting through TSA Security with a Baby

For TSA, you will need to take your children and anything else out of your stroller, fold it up, and put it on the belt to go through the scanner. You can bring baby food, formula, and breastmilk through TSA as each item is considered a medical necessity. Baby food, formula, and breastmilk can be brought in quantities greater than the 3.4 ounce rule for other liquids, but you will want to notify the TSA officer beforehand. You’ll likely have to remove them from your carry on and they may need to go through extra testing.

If you plan to fly more than a couple times per year, I recommend looking into TSA pre-check. It makes moving through the security lines so much easier and faster, especially with children. You don’t have to remove shoes, belts, liquids, laptops, or jackets. That doesn’t sound like a lot but when you think about every single person in front of you having to do that plus doing that for your own family, the time adds up!

How Long to Get to the Airport Ahead of Time when Traveling with a Baby

Make sure you have enough time for yourself to use the restroom, get food and water, or whatever else you need to do before boarding for your flight. You’ll also want to make sure your baby has a clean diaper before boarding. The restrooms on the airplane are so small that it’s hard to change a diaper. If you can, I’d avoid the airplane restroom and do diaper changes right before and right after your flight. If you do need to change a diaper on the flight, just bring the diaper and wipes and a change of clothes if needed into the restroom. You won’t want to bring your entire diaper bag in a restroom that small.

If possible, you may also give your baby some time to stretch out before getting onto the flight. If you’ve packed a blanket you can just lay this down in front of your seats at your gate. No judgement for laying your baby directly on the floor too. I’ve done it!

Boarding Tips for Traveling with an Infant

Most airlines have family boarding in some shape or form. Some airlines have pre boarding before most passengers and some airlines just say they will make sure your child under a certain age is seated by an accompanying adult on the flight. Southwest, for example, does family boarding right after Group A boarding. Other airlines have age stipulations for family boarding such as American Airlines and United Airlines, which prebaords families which children ages 2 and under. If you want to know what to expect ahead of time, look to your airline’s family boarding policy so you’ll know when your family will be boarding the aircraft.

Once you get onto the airplane, go ahead and get everything out that you know you’ll need on the flight- water bottle, pacifier, nursing cover, etc. Place your diaper bag or carry on bag beneath the seat in front of you if possible so that you have easy access to your things. A child breakdown is bound to happen at some point during your flight and having access to your things to help calm the situation, whatever it may be, will lessen your anxiety that you are bothering your neighbors next to you on the flight.

If you brought activities and toys for your baby on the flight, I recommend hanging onto those for a bit instead of busting them out at the beginning. Get settled into your seats, open the windows and let you little one look around or watch the people coming onto the plane. You’ll want to save the toys for when your baby is really getting bored or fussy and you need a good distraction.

Tips to Keep Baby Calm and Happy During a Flight

Feeding your baby during takeoff and landing can help relive the pressure from their ears. If they don’t want to eat, try using a pacifier for that similar sucking motion.

Try not to get too worked up about bothering people around you. Most people I’ve encountered on flights are super friendly towards my children. You’ll have a few bad eggs every once in a while but honestly, their attitude is not your problem. Kids are kids and there is only so much you can do to avoid their emotional breakdowns. Try to remain calm and positive because your kids, even babies, can totally sense your energy.

When the breakdown hits, it’s time to get out your airplane activities for your baby! New toys can keep their attention for longer. If your baby is old enough for solids you can also break out a snack to distract them. I introduce one thing at a time so I’ll hopefully have enough toys and snacks to last for the duration of the flight.

Katie Caldwell