Travelling through airports with babies

[ArthurlovesRosie150517]

We missed our flight at Stansted recently with our 11 month old twins Arthur & Rosie and were left stranded, because of unhelpful unfriendly security staff, which culminated in me being told that there were 'traces of explosives' on the baby food we'd purchased earlier that day. The food was binned, my passport details were taken, I was taken to a room and searched and although I've complained and asked for feedback I've not had any. Anyone else got babies being exposed to 'traces of explosives' on baby food?
Anyone else with babies been told you should be prepared to wait at least two hours in a security queue before your flight?
Should young babies be prioritised like people with disabilities at airports?
What if we needed to change a nappy in the queue packed in with other passengers?
What if our babies needed the bottles of milk and food kept on a tray in a queue for 10-15 minutes?
Why did they throw the baby food away when this is a serious contamination issue for babies?
Grateful to know views of parents travelling with young babies and advice. Thanks.

We travelled recently through Manchester airport. The milk was checked for drugs etc but came back clear. We also got to use a priority queue and was in and out.

On our return, our suitcase was searched and the baby milk checked (we had a 3/4 tub so thought we would bring it home) they put it back in a different place and didn’t put the lid on so it went everywhere in the bag. It must be common place to check the milk even in the hold.

Thats just really bad luck op.

I think your username gives quite a lot of info about yr kids op

Waiting two hours in a queue is standard, you don't get to opt out of it just because you have a baby. It's part of travelling by plane. When we travel we deliberately pick the crappy flight times to avoid standing around for ages as well as getting there early to try and avoid the rush.

I have a toddler and am pregnant so I don't dislike children. However there is no reason to prioritise them over the other passengers.

Change nappy and feed/water them before queueing and bring distractions since you were pre warned about the length of time that queueing might take.

With regards to the food you wouldn't want it back if it was contaminated would you?

What was the food?

Arrive early... do all the boring bits make it to the boarding/seating area and wait.

I have two toddlers...

Quite often we got pulled from long security lines and immigration lines when ds was a baby. Sometimes not though.

One lovely time we were waiting on the plane for 3 hours after landing then in the arrivals hall queuing with no toilet for another 4 when all of the computers shut down. Thy should have pulled out people with young kids and the elderly, people were actually peeing themselves and collapsing.

I think you're being completely over the top op. Travelling with 2 babies is not that uncommon and although not as easy as travelling single, it's really not that big a deal.

As for saying you should have the same priorities as somebody with a disability, really?? Entitled much?!

I'm quite shocked at your post. You're going to need to toughen up a bit. Flying with babies is an awful lot easier than flying with toddlers!

so by your argument if there are "traces of explosive" detected on someone's luggage they should be waved through if they are travelling with children.

Is this advice from the How to Be a Terrorist handbook?

If anyone ever wanted an example of PFB, this is the thread to show them....

At 11 months old, the twins are able to eat other foods if need be. Frustrating? Definitely. Just file it under bad luck. Maybe next time buy priority passes for the airport so you can skip security queues.

Did the food contain bananas? I remember someone being told not to take baby food containing bananas on planes because of the potassium.

Babies can wait 10/15 minutes for food and nappy changes if need be. They might note happy about it and cry but they'll survive. When travelling with children I just accept everything takes longer.

Lots of people travel with babies. Lots of people wait in lines for a long time with babies.
Terrorists have been known to use prams and babies as a foil.
Are you after compensation?
Maybe contact the DM newsdesk. They do smashing sadface photos, I'm sure they'd oblige.

Are these the world's first babies to ever travel through an airport?

Yes it can be stressful. yes it can be draining. But millions do it every year without expecting a red carpet rolling out.

And yes, your user name is very outing

Should young babies be prioritised like people with disabilities at airports? No.

What if we needed to change a nappy in the queue packed in with other passengers? You wait until you've cleared security.

What if our babies needed the bottles of milk and food kept on a tray in a queue for 10-15 minutes? At 11 Months they can wait 15 minutes. You know security can take hours so you could have fed them before the security queue.

Why did they throw the baby food away when this is a serious contamination issue for babies? How is it a contamination issue? It's a pain but they're doing their job, keeping everyone safe. It's unfortunate but you can buy more babyfood once through.

Security are not discriminating against you for having a baby, they're just doing a job.

Been travelling with my twins since they were 7 months old. On one particularly memorable occasion it took us 45 minutes to get through LHR security from the moment we put the bags on the scanner belt (so that’s not including the very lengthy queues). That was because:
(A) I have metal in my body and had to be taken off for a full body search
(B) the twins’ buggy tested positive for nitroglycerin and had to be taken off for tests (they said it could have been if we had walked it through an agricultural area - we actually hadn’t but I said we had anyway to try and put an end to the madness!).
(C) one of my twins was on special formula which we had made up in advance and they had to run all the checks on that
(D) because I had gone off for extra searches, and my husband wasn’t allowed to take two babies at once through the scanner, they had a logistical nightmare trying to work out how to handle us and had to call their managers in for a discussion about what to do as staff weren’t allowed to carry babies through either!

Yes it’s a massive hassle, but I always check the bags in 3-4 hours before the flight.

I’d never expect special treatment- it’s just part of travelling with twins!

PS some tips for your future travels:

(1) book fast track security if your airport allows it

(2) pre-order your baby milk and baby good to collect from Boots airside - then you don’t need to carry it through security

(3) Load them up with snacks in the buggy when you hit the queues for security and/or passport control - let go of any worries you have about too much sugar or whatever - this is about survival

(4) Book VIP assistance for arrivals if you can afford it (and departures if possible).

Bad luck, that sounds miserable.
Can't think of a reason for you to have special attention though. For a start it sounds as if there were 2 adults to deal with the 2 children.
This sort of thing just happens.

I always get priority passes, makes the holiday much better, and £12 is a bargain.

@feesh (D) because I had gone off for extra searches, and my husband wasn’t allowed to take two babies at once through the scanner, they had a logistical nightmare trying to work out how to handle us and had to call their managers in for a discussion about what to do as staff weren’t allowed to carry babies through either!

This sounds like that puzzle about taking a fox, a chicken and some grain across a river

You can buy formula airside and I’m not sure why the food was an issue - at 11 months they can eat normal food or again there’s Boots. They weren’t going to starve if they waited 10-15 minutes whilst the food was elsewhere. Sorry OP you’re being over the top.

That's horrible OP, I mean airports are a pain, travelling with kids is a pain but to actually miss your flight is rubbish for you.

I've always found airport staff to be really accommodating and outbound have often been waived through to a priority queue but never asked or expected it. I find expecting the worst helps!

To your questions though..

Passengers are told to arrive at airports 2-3 hours before arrival. When I had babies/toddlers we'd go earlier to deal with the unexpected like an explosive nappy, dropped toy, stubborn toddler etc and then deal with the longer wait once comfortably through security and the toddlers were happy running up and down by the gate.

No young babies don't need to be prioritised at all, they aren't disabilities just a bit annoying! Its nice when you are waived on though.

If you need to change a nappy then it'll usually wait, in extreme circumstances (poo explosion everywhere) I guess you'd have to speak to someone.

Any baby can wait 10-15 minutes for food, noisily and annoyingly but there wouldn't be any long term damage.

Not sure about throwing away the baby food. Can you buy more on the other side ? Had you complied with all of the instructions for food ? Was there an allergy with doctors letter or something ?

Dubai airport are good for prioritising families IME and it's been very much appreciated.

We're frequent flyers and always arrive at the airport at least two hours beforehand. Having said that, the explosives thing sounds ridiculous and if they've got that wrong (which presumably they did!) you should surely be entitled to compensation of some sort.

At Stansted they charge six quid per adult to use the priority lane and it is well worth it -- you're through it in about five minutes flat and the staff are helpful and nice .

(Sadly then you have to walk for miles down a really dull corridor, being being corralled past every single shop in the place before you get to the too-small seating areas. I loathe Stansted).
In fact if funds permit I recommend splashing out to use the airport lounges where food and drinks are available at no extra charge. The airport outlets are hideously overpriced anyway and you can easily eat and drink enough to about cover the lounge charge anyway. Well, we certainly can.