The editor of Mummy Travels gives her tips on how to make feeding time on airplanes as easy as possible.
1/ Buy at the airport
Skip the hassle entirely by pre-ordering in advance. Most chemists at UK airports will let you buy by phone or over the internet and pick it up once you’re through security, including formula cartons and disposable pre-sterilised bottles. Leave at least a week to be sure it’s ready and waiting. But remember that some low-cost airlines will insist your shopping fits in your hand luggage so leave space or be prepared to pay extra.
Find out where you can buy baby milk at UK airports
2/ Room temperature rules
If your baby’s happy to drink milk at room temperature, your travelling life will be much easier. However, most airlines are happy to heat bottles or provide hot water – but the cabin crew will have other duties on their mind too, so ask before your baby’s desperate for a feed.
3/ Bottle it
Those 100ml liquid limits don’t apply to baby food or milk in hand luggage, but you’ll almost certainly be asked to taste it as you go through security. So avoid packing cartons which you’ll need to open and stick to cooled boiled water (which must be in a baby bottle) and a container of pre-measured powder.
4/ Pack a spare
Two spares, if you have room. That way, if you hit a spot of turbulence as you’re mixing the bottle (lightly coating the entire plane in formula), you’ve got a back-up.
Cathy is a 30-something travel-obsessed writer who’s visited more than 50 countries around the world. She’s also mum to her first baby and trying to work out how to juggle both at the same time. Her award-winning blog, MummyTravels.com, follows her attempts to combine buggies with border control, as well as tips on what to do (and what to avoid at all costs) while seeing the world as a family.