Airport Survival Guide for Parents: Travel Tips for Flying with Kids in 2025

It’s the summer holidays and hundreds of thousands of Brits will be jetting abroad to for a sunshine break. For parents, airports with children is the ultimate family stress test. Early starts, long queues, last-minute toilet breaks, and crowded terminals are challenging enough without adding toddlers into the mix.

The airport is a chaotic, people are everywhere, urged by departures boards to rush to gates seemingly miles away (“gates closing” when not even started boarding is a tactic to limit stragglers. We did ignore it once sans kids thanks to a particularly intense game of Monopoly Go and almost missed the flight).

I’m deeply scarred by airports which makes me slightly neurotic as a parent. I only flew once in my first 18 years, in 1990 when I was 12. All it took was one person cutting in front of me wheeling their suitcase to lose precious seconds. Long enough for my family ahead to get swallowed up by the crowds. For this reason I put my kids in bright colours and hold their hand when walking.

Luckily my kids are very well travelled and it’s time to pass on my experience. This guide won’t promise miracles, but it will give you clear, practical tips to make the airport experience as smooth as possible for the whole family. Here’s how to keep calm and travel on.

Get Ahead: Home Prep to Beat Airport Panic

Due to the consequences of forgetting passports and flights delays, flying is definitely more stressful than other modes of transports. There’s a lot of things to worry about with delays, check-in, forgetting essentials and successful getting through security without any tears and tantrums. And that’s just the adults.

Things have got better with the new security CT scanners meaning you don’t need to separate electronics and liquids, and e-tickets mean printed boarding passes are one less thing to leave behind (but what about ensuring your phone has enough charge? say the stress heads).

Pack Like a Pro: Tips for Families with Young Kids

Preparation always helps. A bit of planning at home goes a long way to keep things calm once you’re out the front door.

Here’s what helps most:

1. Get everything together days before you go, not hours. Put everything out if you can, ensure everything is washed and ready to go. Have a sensible check before the final pack or you may find you have one pair of shorts to make room for 5 pairs of shoes.
2. Pack sensibly and split the clothes across bags in case one gets lost (happened to me once, literally left me with the clothes I was wearing. Thanks Ryanair). P.S Airtags can be useful as you’d be surprised how little airlines know about your missing bag location.
3. Have a system for hang-luggage essentials like snacks, wipes, passports, and chargers.
4. Set expectations. Let older kids know and expect the queues, security checks, and all the waiting.
5. Dress smart. Wear shoes that slip on easily, light layers for temperature changes (hoodies are ideal), and no belts or fiddly fiddly jewellery or accessories for security.
6. Photograph passports, boarding passes, and luggage tags to refer to later if needed.
7. Download all music, TV series and films to iPad, phones and tablets on your home WiFi.
8. Double check the essentials. Passports, Phones, chargers, comfort toys they can’t sleep without, age appropriate must-haves, etc (i.e bottles of baby formula if you have a baby and the flight gets delayed)
9. Think about extras like a carseat, which can go in oversized baggage by the way, which is handy if you plan on hiring a car.

Being organised helps everyone stay calm. And a chilled parent is already winning half the battle.

Personally, I wear combat shorts when I fly as the deep pockets are ideal for passports, and I carry all the kids electronics in my hand luggage because they are heavy. One trip my daughter left my work phone behind (she plays on it), coinciding with my wife dropping her phone in the sea, so I had the only working phone. As you can imagine I didn’t see it very much.

Timing is Everything: When to Arrive and What to Do

Unless you live next to the airport, all it takes is one traffic jam to raise the stress levels. I have friends who go 3/4 hours before their flight but it’s excessive. Do factor in unexpected delays, but not so early that you’re stuck waiting for check-in to open as there is limited seating areas and not a lot to do.

Just remember airports are nothing but waiting around in different areas; shuffling a long the check-in queue, lining up for security, waiting in the departure lounge, waiting at the gate. Time goes fast at airports anyway, especially if you have the obligatory 7am pint and spray from the aftershave samples.

We tend to get there two hours before our flight, which is about right for us. We avoid the over-priced restaurants, mainly as the food is average. A meal deal from Boots does the same job, and a magazine from WHS Smiths with the cheap tat on the front is a low cost time filler for younger kids.

Personally, I’d always prefer to spend extra time at the airport over dragging my kids through the airport at breakneck speed to catch my flight, but each to their own.

Tips:

• Book early flights to avoid the stacked delay risk
• Pre-book parking (it’s actually very cheap in January with free cancellation) and check in online once realised to get seats together.
• Use fast track security or family assistance.
• Keep an eye for gate information and plan the last toilet trip before you head to the gate.
• People needing assistance board first, and that includes families with babies, and you can take a stroller right up to the gate.

A bit of structure keeps things moving smoothly and avoids last-minute drama and means you start the holiday on the right foot.

Security Without Stress: Prepping Kids for the Checkpoint

Airport security can be confusing and intimidating for children. Here’s how to breeze through without tears:

• Make sure they understand the process. They will need to place their bag and comfort toys on the conveyor belt, and walk through the scanner alone. It helps if one parent goes first so they can see you as they walk through (again, the family assistance section has more children and smiling faces)
• Pack liquids and electronics where they’re easy to reach (in airports with older scanners, usually on the way home).
• Dress for ease and keep kids in simple clothes with minimal layers..

Screens, Snacks & Sanity: Keeping Kids Occupied

Hungry or bored children are a recipe for stress. Get ahead of the game by:

• Packing snacks: Bring a variety, including slow-energy options like cereal bars, crackers, and dried fruit. Airport food is pricey and queues are long.
• Charging devices: Tablets, phones, e-readers, charge them fully the night before and leave in airplane mode to conserve the battery. Bring a power bank, just in case.
• Downloading offline content: Don’t rely on patchy Wi-Fi. Load up with games, films, audiobooks and more in advance.
• Packing low-tech distractions: Colouring books, sticker pads or magnetic games work wonders. Bonus points for new or long-forgotten toys.

Top tip: Wrap a few small items like presents to add novelty and time-wasting potential!

Be Wary of Airport Wi-Fi

Free airport Wi-Fi may be convenient, especially for streaming kids’ shows, checking flight info, or a last-minute download on Netflix for the flight. But public networks are notoriously insecure and offer minimal protection, with unencrypted data easily accessible.

Final Boarding Call: What a Little Planning Can Do

Travelling with children might never be effortless, but it doesn’t have to be chaotic. Plan the basics, prepare for the worst, and remember to breathe.

With the right mindset, a well-packed bag, even a family trip through Heathrow can feel (almost) enjoyable.

Safe travels, don’t forget the snacks, and remember it’s not about the journey but the destination.