Why do airports make travelling with children so hard?

[MidnightPatrol]

I have travelled several times with my now toddler, and every time it has been a nightmare vs just going through the normal check in process.

I seem to be forced to use manual check in each time (for the pram I suppose). This means you have to queue or in ‘special assistance’ rather than use bag drop.

What is better with a toddler than standing in a queue for an hour, waiting while every other passenger that needs assistance is dealt with, late arrivals ushered in front of you etc.

On to ‘family friendly security’ where… again always a huge queue vs the standard queues - both to get your boarding pass checked, and to get your bags searched.

While I am allowed to take my yo-yo pram on board, it is sometimes confiscated and checked in. But… no airport I have been to in the U.K. provides prams in the airport. So you are carrying masses of luggage and a wriggling child while trying to move through the airport.

To accommodate all of the above, you have to be at the airport the full three hours before your flight just to accommodate standing in all these extras queues they’ve created for you. I’ve almost missed flights twice because they’ve managed to take 2-3 hours to get me checked in and through security.

Just…. Why?

The airports actually talk about how family friendly they are, while actively making the experience worse.

@TakeMe2Insanity

My eldest is 25, I've always been able to take my umbrella buggy on board, nothing new. The main innovation is parents now can bring tablets and child sized headphones which didn't exist for mine, we had to rely on the inflight information which was often a bigger screen in the middle of the cabin showing one film at a time. They were just switching over to personalized entertainment screens on seats when mine were born and dc1 loved the map screen (as do i)

Why don’t you pay for fast track?

I found the opposite. They bent over backwards to help

I also have bad things to say about Bristol airport.

From what I can see there are no pushchairs or other baby-carrying equipment in the airport, the stairs/escalator up to security isn't great and there is no priority families lane anywhere. Also no soft play facilities. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any kind of facilities for people travelling with young family. One positive I can add: they fixed the water fountains now and there are rarely queues.

Compared to Berlin (the only other airport I visit frequently with family), Bristol is much worse. Berlin has a decent indoor play area before security for when you need to kill time a bit and they will prioritize families through security.

I have a three year old and a baby. We’ve done four trips in the last year so eight flights. Almost all flights have been delayed - though usually only once boarded (though once for 8 hours from 5pm which wasn’t ideal…) Overall, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by airports with kids, you’re usually sent to the front of the queue, there are often play areas, we’ve been able to keep our buggy whenever we wanted (though I agree a carrier is generally better). In particular, when you get off the plane, pick up your buggy at the plane doors then breeze past everyone on your flight at passport control in the priority queue it’s a lovely feeling. We did have one awful experience of a 1.5 hour security queue in the “family friendly” lane with hoards of screaming kids (mine included) while the regular queue went much faster but that was very much the exception rather than the rule and something had clearly gone wrong that day.

Sadly, getting on a plane involves a series of queues, that is never going to be fun with small people but I think generally airports do their best to make it easier. Pack as light as possible, warn the kids what’s coming and try to make it fun for them, and take a lot of deep breaths - acceptance that it’s not going to be great is key to staying calm about it.

@GingerIsBest - If it helps at all, some airport lounges airside (not all) have a childrens’ area, showing cartoons etc. But do check the facilities before you book.

l shouldn’t keep recommending lounges, l have a lounge pass, but the way l’m doing this, every time l fly they are going to be full! 🤔

I recently travelled with 1 year old grand daughter - for passport - I was told to take her out her buggy and hold her up to the face machine scan thing - much better if they had had a machine that could work at a low level for children - would be so much quicker too!

I think there might be technical issues there.

Better would be to have more human beings doing the job. Passport scanners are expensive to install and maintain. They have also been shown to be no quicker when you factor into the queues, the delays caused by someone ahead having problems . They are just there so that fewer staff are required, saving the salary budget.

I’ve always found airports/flying to be much easier than I was expecting.

what airports?

i've been on about 40 flights with my now 2 year old and always bring my buggy to the plane and drop it at the steps to be put on and collect when i get off

Never found family queue super long (Though maybe that was just luck of the time ive arrived)

Heathrow has soft plays for kids!

One thing that would make airpirts easier... family toilets! As in larger cubicles. I was always a struggle to get the three of us plus bags in a cubicle. Became a lot easier when DDs were old enough to wait with the bags in turn.

I'm taking my small baby on his first flight from Bristol soon. Slightly anxious now after reading this thread! I don't need a pushchair or anythibg like that and will check in my luggage. I had planned to use a wrap sling but will I be made remove it at security? I don't know how or where I could put him down and rewrap it solo? And if I take some expressed breastmilk on bottles will it be accepted? Will be over 100ml

Most London airports do have family toilets. Many a time we have had early flights at 6.30am. We stay at airport hotel, leave 4.30am so time to check in luggage etc. And until now I leave Ds in just pjs. So lift him from bed and into pram. He then stays asleep through luggage drop queues. Then wake him to go through security, and take to family toilets the other side which have changing tables and space to wheel pram in. Then changed his nappy when at that age, toilet once trained and change into clothes. That way he gets an extra hour sleep and toilet/ nappy just before boarding.

https://nimblebabies.com/blogs/blog/getting-milk-through-airport-security-the-guidance#:~:text=Milk%20over%20100ml%20IS%20allowed,for%20liquids%20in%20hand%20luggage).

yes it's all fine @Nov2023 you can bring liquids for babies - they just do extra screening on it!!

i travelled alone with my daughter through Stansted when she was 4 months - had her in an ergo baby carrier - i beeped going through the machine and had to take her out - just gave her to one of the security people to hold her while they did my body search and then just went and took a seat to sort out getting her back into the carrier - i gave myself a lot of time so wasn't rushing

@StarlightLady Thank you! I could always forget the expressed milk and breastfeed but there are no quiet corners in bristol airport... I would also prefer to have a bottle should he need feeding during the very short flight!

@Fupoffyagrasshole Good to hear. I will start practicing using my carrier rather than my trusty sling and will use that asshoukd be easier than rewrapping my sling! Now to practice running to the gate with the carrier when bristol do their crazy gate closing message with zero notice of a gate until then!

We have to use the special assistance lane. At Manchester airport in particular (and in several European airports), staff are great. They walk along lines and direct families with prams to special assistance where there are usually little if any queues 🤷‍♀️

Sorry that you have had problems.

It is a nightmare, OP.

What helped me was buying fast track security passes. They are cheap and well worth the money to get rid of the stress.

We always checked in our pushchair as we had too many things to carry. Buy a small suitcase that the child can sit on. There is one now on the market that has a pull up seat for toddlers. I wish we had that when mine were younger.

Many airports have play areas. Have a look online and let them use up their energy.

I’ve not found it hard to be honest. We travelled with 20mo twins and 4 to dd1 from Gatwick to Canada fine and to New York with 5yos and a 9yo. Only issue last year was in Orlando airport where AI face detection failed to cope with identical twins.

I refused to fly with my DC until the youngest was 7 after an horrible flight when they were toddlers. All holidays were in the UK. Any family that lived abroad and that wanted to see us had to come here!

Oh I'm totally with you @MidnightPatrol I travel every 2/3 months solo with my toddler and it's completely rubbish. I don't know why they can't make fast track lanes for families. I paid to fast track through security recently. The scanner broke, 2 women fainted, lots of delays and I was trying to manage a frustrated toddler. Even with a babyzen they still make you fold it & put it through the scanner all whilst trying to hold your baby/toddler - not so bad if they're walking or small enough for the carrier.
Then when you get to the plane because I've got a babyzen I can take the pram on board so I'm usually like a pack horse trying to hold everything - noone ever offers to help. Easyjet always say they can't lift anything and just watch me struggle.
I think what really infuriates me is using trains in the UK- there's always storage space allocated for bikes, luggage, wheelchairs. Seating allocated for elderly. But not for parents and children or prams.
I can only think the train interior was designed by a man.

@Yonjovi - don’t you just put the babyzen on the train luggage rack? I just dump child on seat, pram overhead, and rucksack by feet and sit down. Train travel is a doddle compared to flying, more space, no pre security time

Airport security is a pain and a lot could be done, with investment, to make life a lot better for those with young children and people who are disabled. But in the UK most airports are now owned by private companies and there is little incentive to invest as doing so is unlikely to increase their profitability; they are there to make money. Furthermore few people have alternatives. NB: I am not saying this is right, just telling it as it is.

In addition the 100ml liquid rule is a pain, but a gentle reminder it was introduced after a plot was discovered (involving mixing liquids) that would have been likely to have caused the biggest loss of life in aviation history.