general-travel

First Time Flying Tips to Manage the Airport

Arrow Discover more

First time traveling with the kids? Don’t leave the start of your much-anticipated vacation to chance! Here are 8 first-time family flying tips for managing the airport.

Get There Early

Kids tend to slow everything down at the airport, from extra potty breaks to slower meandering from security to the gate area. You may think that getting up an extra 30 or 60 minutes earlier sounds dreadful, but compare that to cooling your heels in an airport for a few extra hours (with complaining kids) because of a missed flight.

Check into Hotel Possibilities

If you’ll be leaving on an early morning flight, it might make sense to book an airport hotel for the evening before. That’ll allow you a little more rest before getting up and keep you on schedule. As an extra bonus, some airport hotels offer “Park and Fly” packages, so you can leave your car at the property. Then, take either the hotel shuttle bus or an Uber to the airport, and you’ve saved yourself many days of airport parking costs.

Carry Your Travel Docs on You

Don’t pack things like passports into any luggage that you may have to check if the overhead bins are full. Print out copies of your car rental reservation or hotel reservations, in case your phone battery dies by the time you arrive. This also goes for important medications – keep those in your carry-on bags, and leave them in their original prescription bottles.

Make Sure Everyone Knows Your Flight Info and Airlines

Older kids should be filled in on any connections you’ll be making, how long the connection is, what airlines you’ll be flying. If they get separated – even for a few minutes – you want them to have a sense of how to find you and whether there’s time to spare or if it’s a tight connection. When our kids were little (say, 2 to 6), we’d print up a letter saying who they were, where they were going via which flights, who their parents are and what our cell numbers are. We’d fold that up and pin it somewhere, like inside their sweatshirt, so an adult could find it in an emergency.

Decide to Carry or Not

This depends on the age of your kids, how much you’re packing and where you’re going. If you have teens, they can likely schlep their own bags across the terminal or through connections with ease. If your kids are little, it might be smarter to check as much as you can, to not have to deal with it again until you arrive at your destination.

Consider a Separate Kids Backpack

Especially if you’re going to be sitting in different rows on the aircraft, let your kids have their own carry-on luggage. Encourage them to pack a variety of things to amuse themselves, from reading materials to electronics to card games or puzzles.

Don’t Count on Airplane Food

Make sure to stock up on bottled water and snacks either at the airport or at home. We like to pack Ziploc bags full of favorite snacks, as well as some fresh fruit and protein bars. You can even save a few bucks by bringing empty water bottles through security and filling them up in the terminal. Many airports now have water bottle filling stations next to water fountains, providing filtered water.

Dress Smartly – in Layers

While it’s tempting to wear shorts, a tank top and sandals to get ready for that Hawaiian vacation, a delay or unexpected night at a connecting airport may leave you undressed for the weather there. What’s more, airplanes can vary a lot in onboard temperatures. I’ve roasted on some planes and had goose bumps on others. Don’t expect to find blankets on board your flight; these days, they’re often given only in first class. Listening to your son or daughter complain they’re cold for an entire 4-hour flight is not an enjoyable way to start a vacation.

Paul J. Heney is an award-winning writer and avid world traveler. He has written extensively about family travel, green issues, cruises, and LGBT travel issues. He lives in suburban Cleveland with his partner and two sons, Joshua, 16, and Mathew, 10. Follow him on Twitter at @paulheney or Instagram at @paulheney.

Get travel news sent to your inbox