Travelling with kids: flights and long trips

Every traveller needs their own passport, including a baby. Many countries require a passport valid for six months beyond the return date, and some require a visa for minors even when adults from the same country do not. If one parent is travelling alone with a child, some borders ask for a letter of consent from the other parent or a document showing sole custody. Rules differ by country, so check the destination's official immigration site rather than a forum.

On fares, the usual split is: infant under 2 travels on an adult's lap for a percentage of the adult fare plus taxes, or in a seat if you buy one; child from 2 to 11 pays a child fare or a discount; from 12 some airlines charge the adult fare. These bands are common but not universal, and the percentage for a lap infant varies a lot between airlines. Treat any figure you see as a 2026 estimate and confirm with the airline.

Unaccompanied minors are a separate service with its own age limits and fees, usually booked by phone. If a child is flying alone, that is the process to ask about, not the family booking flow.

Seats together is the single change that most improves a family flight, and it is not guaranteed. Many airlines will seat a young child next to at least one adult at no charge, but the rule usually covers only one adult and one child, and it can fail on a full flight or a last-minute booking. Paying for seat selection, or checking in the moment it opens, is the reliable route. A bulkhead row gives floor space for a bassinet and for a toddler to stand, at the cost of losing the seat-back pocket in front of you.

Strollers are normally gate-checked free: you keep the stroller through the airport and hand it over at the aircraft door, then collect it on the jet bridge or at the baggage hall on arrival. That last part varies by airport, so ask at the gate. A stroller that folds small enough for the overhead bin avoids the wait entirely. Car seats are allowed on board by many airlines if the seat is approved for aircraft use and you have bought a seat for the child; the approval label is on the seat itself. Otherwise the car seat goes in the hold, where it can be damaged, so a padded bag is worth the money.

Baggage is where families get caught. A lap infant often has no checked allowance of their own, so the stroller, the car seat and the nappy bag all come out of the adults' allowance. Extra baggage bought at booking is almost always cheaper than at the airport.

Ear pain on take-off and landing comes from pressure changes in the middle ear, and it is worse with a cold. Feeding a baby, or giving an older child a drink or a chewy sweet during descent, helps equalise the pressure. A child with an active ear infection or a heavy cold should be assessed by a doctor before flying; this is one of the few cases where the answer may be to delay.

Feed and water the child more often than at home. Cabin air is dry and long flights dehydrate everyone. Take an empty bottle through security and fill it after the checkpoint, or buy water airside. Snacks should be low-mess and familiar: the flight is not the moment to introduce a new food. A change of clothes for the child and a spare shirt for the adult is not excessive; spills and sickness happen.

Sleep is the goal on a long-haul flight. A daytime departure that lands in the evening suits most children better than a red-eye, because they sleep in a bed rather than in a seat. If you do fly overnight, keep the child awake through the airport and let them sleep with the cabin. Screens are a legitimate tool on a long flight; download everything before you leave, because wifi is unreliable and often paid.

The big variable is the fare band. A lap infant is usually the cheapest way to fly with a baby, but you give up the seat and often the baggage. Buying a seat for an infant under 2 costs more but gives you somewhere to put a car seat and somewhere for the child to sleep. From 2 years, expect a child fare or discount on many airlines, moving to adult pricing somewhere around 12. All of these are 2026 estimates and vary by airline, route and season.

The extras add up quietly: seat selection, extra baggage, a bassinet request (usually free but limited), travel insurance for the child, and airport food. Seat selection fees are often per person per leg, so a family of four on a two-leg trip can pay it four times over. Travel insurance for children is usually cheap when added to an adult policy, and it matters more than the seat fee: a child's ear infection or a broken arm abroad is the expensive event, not the flight.

Some situations need a doctor's opinion before you book, and a few mean you should not fly at all. Newborns are the clearest case: many airlines set a minimum age, often around 7 days for a full-term baby and longer for a premature one, and a doctor's letter may be required. Ear infections, recent surgery, a fractured limb in a cast, chickenpox and any fever with a rash are all worth a call to a doctor, because the risk is not the flight itself but the pressure changes and the closed cabin.

Children with medical conditions need planning rather than avoidance. If a child uses insulin, an inhaler, adrenaline auto-injectors or regular medicine, carry it in hand luggage, in original packaging, with a copy of the prescription. Security rules for liquids and medicines vary, so check the airport and airline rules before you fly. A child with a disability or additional needs can usually be supported with advance notice to the airline: assistance at the airport, early boarding, and a seat that suits them.

Finally, think about the destination, not just the flight. A trip built around long drives, high altitude or extreme heat is harder with young children than a trip built around one base. If the itinerary only works when everyone is well rested, it is probably too tight.

The questions below cover the decisions that come up most often when booking and taking a flight with children.