Airport chaos? Not if you read these tips and you are lucky enough to be
travelling after the half term.
Now's the time when parents of preschoolers should thank the Lord (hallelujah,
amen and hallelujah again) that they are not tied to travelling in the
school holidays.
Not only is travel cheaper outside the holidays but sleepless nights,
tantrums, teeth, any of the other irritations of being a new parent pale
into insignificance when you compare them to the nightmare that is an
airport on the first day of the school holidays.
Parents, fraught after having been up half the night packing and looking for
lost passports, are faced with the juggling act that is trying to hang on to
their offspring while manhandling overstuffed bags through understaffed
check in and trying to wrest a half drunk Fruit Shoot away from their seven
year old before they get to security.
And it’s supposed to be a holiday.
Those with under-fives, however, have the luxury of travelling when they like.
When budget flights really are budget and it isn’t necessary to take out a
second mortgage to secure a holiday house booking.
You still have to get your children through the airport and new parents, as I
can testify, are prone to making mistakes.
When my eldest was ten months old, I took her to Barcelona thinking that, as I
would be on my own, a sling would be easier to manage than a pushchair. We
were delayed, my daughter had nowhere to sleep and the sling quickly felt
like a (hot) tonne of bricks on my five-foot frame.
Then, flying to Greece when she was around 18 months, I decided to cut down on
hand baggage by leaving out her spare set of clothes (we had travelled a lot
and never used our spares once). Of course, this was the one time she was
ill and after an enormous nappy explosion really needed a change of
clothes). We ended up wrapping her in my partner’s T-shirt.
Since then, I have always worked on the worst-case scenario, preparing myself
for delays and sickness or worse. It drives my clutter-hating partner mad
and I have to admit that even I am amazed by my lists.
It seems to work. So, if you are lucky enough not to be travelling this half
term but are planning an escape with your babes the minute the holiday is
over, it is worth thinking how you will manage at the airport.
Always try and board the plane last with toddlers as this will cut down on restlessness in the seat, and maximise running-around time which, fingers crossed, will tire the child out.
Dubai airport has free buggies courtesy of Emirates - A DREAM! Every airport in the world should offer them, or at least have leg holes in the trolleys like in supermarkets.
Always try and see if the airline will put your buggy on board and not in the hold below - it;s a question of space, and it means that you get it back as soon as you step off the plane rather than at the carousel.
Malika, Damascus, Syria