Tips for solo flight with a 2 year old

[Tigerraar]

In a few weeks I'm doing a solo flight with my 2 year old. She is not used to travel and this will be the first time I've travelled with her by myself. She is generally good and will either be loving the spectacle of it or overwhelmed and wanting to go home! Any tips on helping this go smoothly would be much appreciated! I am a bit anxious about it hence the questions.

We'll be just ourselves at a small outbound airport and we'll be met at the other end at a big airport.

Luggage - are 4 wheeled cases easier to manoeuvre than 2 wheeled cases?

Any entertainment tips?

You can get funny straps that turn your suitcase into a ride on seat. They're from dodgy Chinese snaps, but I think they'd work pretty well. It might be enough not-a-pram to tempt her! Example in link, but there are loads of variants
https://www.reiswieg.nl/en/product/wick-sit-skyrider-bagrider-kofferzitje/

True. Kiss.

Clever!

The AI generated fail of a picture is hilariously awful though. I can't imagine it would survive more than 1 trip!

How long is the flight?

Because of having family in different parts of the world, I've been doing 12h flights with my son since we has 2.5 years old.. (not including the additional shorter connection flights.

Tips:

Pack some "odds and ends" in a backpack pocket.. little things that they can fiddle with in airport queues. My son loved and still asks for this. They can be toys you already have, or you can go to a cheap toy shop and just get a few things for them to fiddle with. It makes every queue and wait 10x better if they have something small and exciting to be fiddling with while waiting.

Plan your carrying solution. Personally I never liked prams, so I've always done a mix of carrying (tiring) and making sure I have a suitcase that they can sit on while we are waiting. Look out for airport trolleys that have kids places to sit. Some airports have great ones with little ridable cars in front that kids can sit in.

Find the play area in the departure lounge.. more and more airports have soft-play these days, although it might be a hike from your gate.

For the flight, bring time-consuming activities. Finger foods that take time to eat (my son loved breadsticks with a dip.. and I loved it because he would take ages to dip.. bite.. dip.. bite..dip.. bite.. etc.) Water colouring pens (the ones that you just fill with a bit of water and then brush over the page to reveal the colour), and magnetic pads with magnetic tiles etc. were all big hits. I'd fill a backpack with all sorts of odds and ends, and then after that its just a case of keeping the time filled.

Activity...
Airplane walk...
Snack...
Activity...
Reading...
Toilet...
Activity...
etc.

For longer flights you can add in screen time + sleeping + meal times.

It really isn't all that bad.

Snacks - my DD loved Marmite sandwiches and cucumber sticks / or a meal deal from WH Smiths (this is an airport activity in itself!). Sucking lollies for take off and landing as the pressure changes can hurt little ears. Activities they’ve never done before - new colouring books or puzzle, a book - sometimes supermarkets do activity packs, or a magazine with a toy. She may sleep but if not be prepared to be an active entertainer.

I’ve done a solo flight with a toddler and honestly it’s not as bad as it feels beforehand
A small ride-on or 4-wheel suitcase definitely makes things easier since you can move it one-handed while keeping hold of your little one. I’d also keep a small backpack with all essentials so you’re not digging through luggage.
For entertainment, snacks are your best friend plus a few small toys, books, or even things they haven’t seen in a while. I also downloaded a couple of shows on my phone as a backup.
The main thing is to keep expectations low and stay flexible, toddlers pick up on our energy, so staying calm really helps. You’ll be absolutely fine once you’re on your way!

we flew easyJet last year with a yoyo style pram. 4 people, 4 hand luggage and the pram and they allowed it on. It can really depend on who is on duty at the gate