Baby Air Travel Tips
what to expect in the air.

Flying with baby for the first time is exciting AND nerve wracking – so gathering lots of baby air travel tips is essential.

All the scenarios we dreamt up prior to our first take off – the screaming baby, the angry passengers, the rude stewards stern comments …

…gladly (thanks to all the advice we’d been given) it all went far smoother than we’d anticipated.

To ease that worry, here’s what you can expect when you’re finally told to fasten your seat belt for take off, along with lots of our baby air travel tips and advice...

Baby In Flight

• Your baby will have to be strapped to your lap with the small baby belt for take off, landing and any turbulance during the flight (this can be quite frustrating if you have to wake your baby by moving them from the bassinet to your lap when the seat belt sign comes on - but thems the breaks).

If you are travelling with baby on your own, the airline staff – in my experience – are very helpful and will offer you lots of extra assistance in general.

• If you’re not alone, then you and your partner can take turns at meal time. Its normal practice for the steward to bring out one meal really early (when all the specialist meals are being delivered) then bring the other along later. Even if baby is asleep they don’t tend to offer you both meals at the same time, so that one of you always has a free lap.
• There is boiling water available for making up formula baby bottles (used for tea and coffee) but is is MEGA hot – so be sure to get it well in advance of feeding time.
• Breastfeed or bottle feed baby on take-off and descent. The best baby air travel tip we were given.

  Take off is less likely to cause pain than the descent. Very young babies tend to have fewer problems as their ears are not fully developed. Speak to your GP if you are concerned.

  You should feel when the plane is starting to descend. If not, listen out for the announcement – you will usually hear from the pilot who tells you that ‘we have started our decent…’ and babbles on about the weather on the ground and time to change your watch to.

  Start helping your baby suck or chew as soon as you are aware of your decent and at regular intervals of a minute or two. Any form of jaw movement, sucking or swallowing will help. Even chewing on your (clean) finger will do the trick. A sugar free lollipop or a tasty juice works wonders. Consider saving these for this purpose only – trust me, it’s worth it.




We left our baby sleeping a number of times during decent- we assumed her ears would naturally equalise in her sleep and chose not to wake her.

Considering baby air travel sedation?

Generally it’s best to avoid sedatives all together as occassionally the reverse can result – your normally mild mannered child could become hyper and difficult – the last thing you need in a confined space. We prefer to avoid them.

• Check out Booking Baby’s Flight for a list of things to remember when booking your flights.
• How do I get the most out of my airline at Check-in?
• What should you remember to take as Carry On Luggage and what restrictions will I face on baby liquids?