Long-haul flights with kids. Just reading those words probably makes your stress levels spike a bit, doesn’t it?
Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Taking children on a 14-hour flight to London or a 15-hour slog to Los Angeles isn’t anyone’s idea of a relaxing start to a holiday. But as an Aussie parent, you don’t have much choice. Geography has dealt us a challenging hand when it comes to international travel.
The good news? With the right preparation and a few clever strategies, you can turn what might be a nightmare scenario into something actually manageable. Maybe even occasionally pleasant.
I’ve put together 20 practical hacks that actually work for Australian families tackling long-haul flights. These aren’t vague platitudes like “stay positive!” or “just relax!” These are specific, actionable strategies you can implement on your next international trip.
Before You Even Get to the Airport
1. Book the Bassinet Row (and Do It Early)
If you’ve got an infant under two, bassinet seats are gold. Most airlines flying out of Australia offer them on long-haul routes, but there’s a catch: they book out fast.
The bassinet row typically offers more legroom, and having somewhere to put your baby during the flight is genuinely life-changing. Contact the airline directly after booking to request these seats. Don’t rely on online seat selection, because these often don’t show the bassinet options.
Each airline has different weight and length limits for bassinets (usually around 10-11kg), so check these before you get your hopes up.
2. Choose Your Flight Time Strategically
Night flights work brilliantly for some families, terribly for others. You know your kids better than anyone else.
If your children sleep well in unusual situations, overnight flights can be magic. Everyone settles in, the lights go down, and you might actually get a few hours of peace.
But if your kids are light sleepers who struggle in new environments? A daytime flight where they can watch movies, play, and move around might save your sanity.
3. Pre-Order Kids’ Meals (But Pack Backup Snacks)
Most airlines let you pre-order children’s meals, which often come out earlier than standard meals. This means your kids eat first, potentially before they have a complete meltdown from hunger.
That said, airline kids’ meals can be hit or miss. Some children love them, others take one look at the “fun” nuggets and refuse to eat. Pack familiar snacks as backup: muesli bars, crackers, dried fruit, whatever you know they’ll actually eat.
Just remember Australia’s strict biosecurity laws. Don’t bring fresh fruit, meat products, or anything that’ll get you in trouble with border control on your return.
At the Airport
4. Arrive Early, But Not Too Early
Three hours before an international flight used to be standard advice. With kids, that’s a delicate balance.
Arrive early enough to get through check-in and security without stress (around 2.5 to 3 hours is usually right), but not so early that your children are bored senseless before you even board.
Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane airports all have play areas, but there’s only so long kids will be entertained by an airport playground.
5. Use Priority Boarding Wisely
Most airlines offer priority boarding for families with young children. Here’s a controversial take: you don’t always want to use it.
Getting on the plane first means more time confined in a metal tube. If your kids are well-behaved in the gate area, consider boarding last instead. Let them burn energy right up until the last minute.
Of course, if you’ve got a toddler who needs time to settle or you’re juggling multiple children and lots of carry-on, priority boarding is brilliant. Use your judgment.
6. Pack Your Carry-On Like You’re Packing for Battle
Your carry-on bag is your survival kit. Here’s what actually matters:
- Change of clothes for each child (including shoes if they’re young enough to have accidents)
- Change of shirt for yourself (babies and turbulence don’t mix well)
- Medications (obviously)
- Basic first aid supplies
- Wet wipes (more than you think you need)
- Hand sanitiser
- Headphones for each child
- Chargers and power banks
- A few new small toys or activities you’ve been hiding
Pack these items in a way that makes sense. You don’t want to be digging through your entire bag to find a spare shirt while a flight attendant is waiting.
7. Bring an Empty Water Bottle
You can’t take liquids through security, but you can take an empty bottle. Fill it up at a water fountain after security.
Keeping kids hydrated on long flights helps with jet lag, reduces the chance of headaches, and generally keeps them more comfortable. Plus, you’re not waiting for drink service or bothering flight attendants every 20 minutes.
During the Flight
8. Claim Your Armrest Territory Early
Once you’re seated, get your area organised immediately. Stow your under-seat bag so you can access what you need, sort out blankets and pillows, set up screens if the airline provides them.
The quicker you establish your space, the calmer everyone will be. Kids feed off your energy. If you’re frazzled and disorganised, they’ll pick up on it.
9. Make Friends With the Cabin Crew
A smile and a polite attitude toward flight attendants can pay dividends over a long flight. They’re far more likely to be helpful and accommodating if you treat them like human beings rather than servants.
If your child is being difficult, a quick acknowledgment to nearby passengers (“Sorry about the noise, we’re doing our best”) can also go a long way. Most people are sympathetic to parents in this situation.
10. Embrace the Screens
This is not the time for screen time rules. Let that go.
Long-haul flights are a special circumstance. If unlimited movies and TV shows keep your child entertained and calm, everyone on the plane will thank you for it.
Download content on tablets before you leave, because relying solely on in-flight entertainment is risky. Systems crash, content libraries vary, and you don’t want to be caught out mid-flight.
11. Break Out New Toys and Activities at Strategic Intervals
Don’t blow all your entertainment ammunition in the first two hours. Space things out.
Surprise your kids with new colouring books, small toys, or activity packs at intervals throughout the flight. A new distraction every few hours can reset their mood and buy you another stretch of peace.
Dollar stores are brilliant for this. Spend $20 and get 10 small items that’ll keep kids occupied.
12. Walk the Aisles Regularly
Sitting still for 14 hours isn’t natural for anyone, especially children. Make regular trips up and down the aisle.
Time these walks for when the seatbelt sign is off and flight attendants aren’t doing meal service. Let your kids stretch their legs, look out different windows, visit the bathroom even if they don’t need to.
Movement helps with circulation, reduces restlessness, and breaks up the monotony.
13. Master the Airplane Bathroom Visit
Airplane bathrooms are tiny, awkward, and often disgusting by hour 10 of a flight. Here’s the strategy:
- Go when the seatbelt sign is off but before meal service starts
- Take your child to the bathroom right before you expect them to fall asleep
- Bring wet wipes, because toilet paper alone won’t cut it with kids
- If you’ve got a toddler in nappies, use the change table but put down a change mat first
For the love of all that’s decent, don’t change nappies at your seat. I don’t care how difficult the bathroom is, nobody wants to smell that.
14. Time Meals and Sleep Strategically
Try to align your kids’ eating and sleeping schedule with the destination time zone if possible. It helps with jet lag on arrival.
If you’re flying to Europe, encourage kids to sleep when it’s nighttime there, even if the flight departs during Australian daylight hours. Feed them according to destination meal times.
This won’t work perfectly, especially with younger children, but even partial alignment helps.
15. Pack Comfort Items From Home
A favourite blanket, stuffed toy, or pillow from home can make an airplane seat feel slightly less foreign.
These comfort items help kids settle down to sleep in an unfamiliar environment. Just make sure you don’t pack something that’ll be devastating if it gets lost. Maybe bring the second-favourite teddy rather than the absolute favourite.
Managing Meltdowns and Difficult Moments
16. Accept That Meltdowns Might Happen
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your child is going to have a meltdown. It happens.
Stay calm. Other passengers’ judgment matters far less than you think it does. Most people understand that kids are kids, and flights are difficult.
Take your child for a walk if possible, speak to them calmly, and ride it out. It will end eventually.
17. Have a “Nuclear Option” Activity
Keep one special activity or treat in reserve for true emergencies. This is something you know will captivate your child when nothing else works.
Maybe it’s a particular chocolate bar they love, a special toy, or access to a specific game on your phone. Whatever it is, save it for when you’re truly desperate.
18. Use Bribery Without Shame
I’m going to say something that might be controversial: bribes work.
If promising your child a special treat when you land or a reward for good behaviour gets you through the flight peacefully, do it. Long-haul flights are survival situations, not ideal parenting environments.
You can return to your usual parenting standards once you’re on solid ground.
After Landing
19. Plan for Immigration and Baggage Collection
After a long flight, you’re tired and your kids are tired. Immigration queues at major airports can be brutal.
If you’re eligible for SmartGate (Australian passport holders), use it. It’s faster. If not, prepare to wait, and accept that you might need to let your kids sit on the floor or entertain themselves with a device while you stand in line.
Don’t stress about getting through quickly. You’ll get there when you get there.
20. Give Yourself Time to Adjust on the Other End
Your flight might be over, but your kids will likely be jet-lagged, overtired, and potentially difficult for the next day or two.
Don’t schedule important activities or strict plans for the day after you arrive. Give everyone time to adjust, rest when needed, and be flexible with your expectations.
You’ve survived a long-haul flight with kids. Everything else is easy by comparison.
The Reality Check
Let’s be honest: even with all these strategies, flying long-haul with children is challenging. You’re managing small humans in a confined space for an unreasonable amount of time, dealing with time zone changes, and trying to keep everyone (including yourself) reasonably comfortable and well-behaved.
Some flights will go brilliantly. Others will be difficult. That’s just the nature of international travel from Australia.
The important thing is to go in prepared, stay flexible when things don’t go to plan, and remember that millions of Australian families do this successfully every year. You can too.
And once you land at your destination? All of this becomes a funny story you’ll tell at dinner parties. Well, eventually it’ll be funny. Give it a few months.
Safe travels.
