- TUI
- The airline stipulates that an infant must be over 14 days old to travel on an aircraft, due to health and safety reasons. If you’re travelling with a baby, all TUI planes are equipped with baby changing facilities. Any pram or pushchair needs to be foldable, there are no restrictions on size or weight if it’s going in the hold, but if you wish to bring your pushchair on board, it will count as your larger piece of hand luggage and cannot exceed 55cmx40cmx20cm or 10kg in weight. You’re permitted to check pushchairs and car seats into the hold free of charge when flying with TUI Airways. According to policy for all UK-registered aircraft, infants aged under 6 months must sit on an adult’s lap and be secured with an infant lap-strap for the duration of the flight. Children aged between 6 months and 2 years must sit on an adult’s lap, unless a seat is purchased. In this case, a car seat may be used if necessary. You can carry liquid baby food or baby milk that’s either pre-packaged or made up at home. You can also carry foods for special dietary requirements, as long as it’s essential for the flight or holiday. Solid baby food can be carried in either your hand or in your luggage. There are no restrictions on taking powder formula – you can carry your baby’s milk powder to be mixed up during your holiday as part of your luggage allowance. All children, including new-born babies, must now have their own individual passport. The child’s passport will initially be valid for five years, but can be renewed for a further five years at the end of this period. Once they reach their 16th birthday, they’ll become eligible for a standard 10-year passport.easyJet
- Ryanair
A Ryanair flight had to make an emergency landing at Liverpool John Lennon Airport after being struck by a bird. (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Organising a family holiday can sometimes be a bit of a headache, ensuring everything is in place and all crucial documents like passports and boarding passes are sorted. Holidays should be a time to chill out, take a breather and escape from reality for a week or two.
Being clued up on the various rules for planes is vital, especially if you’re travelling with children as there might be some regulations you’re not aware of. To make your holiday a tad smoother and stress-free, we’ve compiled some key advice about travelling with babies and children on TUI, Ryanair and easyJet flights.
READ MORE: Airport staff ‘awarded bonuses for spotting easyJet oversized bags’
TUI
easyJet
easyJet states that babies under 14 days old are unable to travel. If your child is older than two years or turns two while you are travelling, you will have to book a separate seat for them.
Children between two and fifteen years old cannot travel unless they are accompanied by an adult who is 16 years or older.
Unaccompanied children aged 15 and under are not allowed to travel alone and will be denied boarding. The airline categorises anyone aged sixteen and above as an adult.
At this age, you can fly with children and with individuals requiring special assistance.
TUI flight rules explained (Image: Getty)
Infants with reserved seats and children over 2 years old have the same cabin bag and hold luggage allowance as adults. If you’re travelling with an infant who will be seated on your lap, only an additional baby changing bag is permitted for the infant.
For every infant or child, you can bring up to two of the following items free of charge to go into the hold, in addition to your cabin bag allowance: travel cot, pushchair, double pushchair, buggy, car seat, collapsible or non-collapsible pram, booster seat and baby back carrier.
You can carry baby food, baby milk and sterilised water in your cabin bag if you’re travelling with an infant. The 100ml liquid limit enforced at some airports doesn’t apply to baby food, milk or sterilised water, provided that the total amount in each container does not exceed 2 litres.
EasyJet aircrafts are equipped with baby changing facilities. You’ll need to bring your own nappies and wipes as they aren’t supplied on board.
Ryanair
Infants aged up to seven days are not accepted for travel on any Ryanair flights. Infants (aged 8 days to 23 months inclusive) travelling with Ryanair must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over (one infant per adult).
All infants must be seated on an adult’s lap and do not qualify for a separate bag allowance. On-board baby changing facilities are located at the rear of the aircraft.
Cabin crew can also assist in warming baby bottles if needed.
EasyJet is a popular flight provider (Image: Getty)
If an infant turns 2 years old or a child turns 16 during your trip, it is advised to purchase two one-way flights instead of a return ticket. At the airport, you can check in two items of baby equipment per child (one pushchair + car seat, booster seat or travel cot) free of charge.
Ryanair advises parents or guardians to ensure that their treating doctor confirms these very young infants are safe to fly. You can bring two items of carry-on baby equipment for free.
This can include a pushchair/buggy, car seat, booster seat or travel cot. These will need to be tagged at the check-in desk or at the boarding gate.
Baby food and milk.
When travelling with a baby, you’re permitted to take enough baby food, baby milk and sterilised water for the journey. There is no legal limit to how much you can take, however, it’s recommended to check with your airport before you travel.
According to Gov.uk, you can carry breast milk in hand luggage even if you’re not travelling with a baby. You cannot carry frozen breast milk in hand luggage.
Individual containers of breast milk must hold no more than 2,000ml. Each container will need to be screened at the security point.
Airport staff might need to open the containers to screen the liquids.
