While holidays abroad can be great fun for all the family, the journey there and back can sometimes be fraught with stress.

But British Airways (BA) is working alongside Gatwick Airport to keep the stress of travelling with little ones to an absolute minimum and is providing mums and dads with useful travel tips on travelling overseas with children.

The airline advises parents to substitute large and impractical strollers and pushchairs with compact travel prams that can be easily stored in the overhead luggage during the course of a flight.

It also recommends parents keeping a number of items close at hand with which they can distract their children with and keep them occupied while waiting in the departure lounge. BA also says that it’s vital to remember to take a child’s comfort blanket, teddy or pillow with you before embarking on a journey as these can reassure children and help them to sleep on long flights.

The airline, which flies to a number of family-friendly destinations from Gatwick such as Cancun, Malaga, Paphos and Orlando, also provides children with entertainment packs on flights as well as having a separate child-friendly menu.

Mother-of-two and BA senior first officer Carley Lear said: “We sometimes have stickers and postcards for children and will be more than happy to talk about flying and what all the controls and buttons on the flight deck do.”

Copyright © Press Association 2011

  • Share/Bookmark