At The Airport

At the Airport

Before you even get on your trip, without preparation and organisation, the airport can be highly stressful for you ...and those around you.

Practice run

From when my step-son went on his first trip with us, we did a practice run. This then became a fun outing whether we were doing a trip or not. This is how it worked.

We would get the backpack that the children would be taking and head to the airport. Our airport is Sydney, and parking costs are crazy, so after a number of years of paying for parking we luckily discovered Tempe Park. We parked here and the kids played at the park then we crossed over the bridge and along the walking path straight to the International terminal.  I am sure every airport has an easy access like this that would save you paying fees.

We would head straight to departures and get the children to help us find our flight and then where we had to check-in. 

We would walk there and show them how busy it is so they know they need to hold our hands. After they have seen that area, we show them where the departure area is and do a practice photo at the area where Departures is written.

We take them to an area where you can see planes take off and grab them a snack while we sat and had a cuppa. After that, we then took them to where arrivals are and showed them where we will walk out and watched as people came out with big trolleys of luggage.

It is a good time to observe and point out children that are staying with their parents to show how they should behave. Likewise, we always told our children that when we are checking in and going through customs etc. they behave, smile but only speak when we tell them to. It is amazing what can from the mouths of babes at the most inappropriate times!

At the Practice run, grab the Outgoing Passenger forms (and spare) so you can have them filled in before you arrive at the airport. I always see people filling them out at the airport and before going to customs and it is an extra stress you can easily avoid. Travel agents can often get these for you.

On The Day of Departure

We always have the bags lined up ready to go the night before with just a few last minute things that will have to go in on the day. 

I always show my husband the folder that has all our passports with outgoing passenger cards in them in my handbag and the flight e-ticket with that in my handbag so that it is not a case of "Did I remember the passports?"or even worse getting to the  airport and having to drive back to get the passports.

Remind the children that they need to stick close to you and not to speak to anyone but be polite and smiling. We tell them that it is important that the people read our documents and make sure it is really us gooing through. Our children have been spoken to by customs and they know just to answer simply and politely.

Baggage Collection

There is honestly nothing worse than a family that ALL stand up against the baggage claim conveyer. It is really dangerous to them and to the people around them trying to get their own bags.

What works for us

My husband goes and collects the bags

My children and I stand quite a way back- usually by a pillar and they all hold on to me or the stroller/ trolley etc. They do not go anywhere else, even if they see our suitcase. It is their job to help me look after the cabin baggage and make sure I am safe in the airport.

You are all going to be tired and jet lagged, so talk to your children about this before you even start the trip and then remind them as you are heading down to the baggage claim area. I have seen many times where a child gets hurt when they run in and try and pull their heavy case down and it bangs into someone else/the bag gets dropped/ they strain a muscle.

When you have older children, they can then stand behind the parent collecting suitcases and transport them over to the parent waiting back further and then return to the front again. This means the parent collecting luggage has more room.

Have a mental or physical list of each of your suitcases. If this is your first trip, you could even take a photo of each of them if you are not familiar with them. We bought bright coloured lycra dotted fabric and cut them into strips and tied all over our cases so we know which ones are ours. It makes it so much easier for my husband to know for sure which one is ours rather than lifting off heavy bags that you then discover aren't yours.