Get tips and advice for adjusting to the hot hand luggage restrictions. Tips on how to pack fewer carry-ons without compromising your sanity on an extended haul flight with kids.
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After every week within the bush we were ill prepared for the long lines and heightened security that awaited us on the airport in Mombasa, Kenya. We had an excessive amount of hand luggage and it was packed completely wrong. And if it weren’t for a delay, we’d have missed our flight home.While the hot carry-on restrictions don’t affect travel to all countries, they do apply to greater than just flights to and from the U.S. and UK and will well be extended without advance notice. India and Canada have adopted similar policies and EU leaders have agreed, at the very least in theory, to harmonize their approach.
The following pointers will ensure you are not repacking your luggage curbside and that you’re prepared for long haul travel without your child’s well-stocked bag of toys.
Check both the airline and airport’s website for policy changes before your outbound and, if possible, again before your inbound flight. If neither site offers information, call the airline or airport.
Arrive on the airport as a minimum 2 hours prematurely.
Keep your hand luggage light and easy.
Check or ship instead of carry large and oddly shaped souvenirs.
Pack all liquids and gels to your checked luggage.
Ensure your single carry-on doesn’t exceed 56 cm x 45 cm x 25 cm (including wheels, handles and external pockets), the equivalent of a small rollaway, even when you aren’t flying to, from or transiting in the course of the UK. Please note you could be asked to place your handbag inside your hand luggage because it is thought of as a carry-on.
Be prepared to take away your laptop and all other electronic items out of your carry-on and take off your shoes for x-ray.
Consume any drinks you can be carrying (except the contents of your child’s bottle, which are carried through) before arriving on the security checkpoint. Drinks can be bought and consumed within the departure area but can’t be carried on flights in or to the U.S.
Revisit your repertoire of travel games. Age-old car travel games reminiscent of I spy, scissors, paper, rock, hang man, tic tac toe and knock, knock jokes grants hours of fun even on a plane.
Get creative with the fabric onboard. Make puppets out of airsickness bags and placed on a show.
Snacks resembling Cheerios take in little room and may keep younger children occupied for quite a while.
Relax screen time rules for older children. In-flight entertainment programs on most intercontinental flights offer music, videogames and more.
Be flexible.
