What should I be aware of when flying with small children?
It’s great that you are planning to take your next flight with your child. We’d like to give you a few important tips and make some suggestions on how you can prepare for your time on board with us.
Important information about flying with small children
- Infants under two years of age can travel on the lap of an accompanying adult. In this instance, flight attendants will give the adult a safety belt for the child before take-off. The child can also travel on a separate seat. If this is the case, the child must be secured by a child restraint system that the adult must bring on board with them.
- Take a little something with you for your child to eat on the flight. We do, of course, provide snacks for our youngest passengers on board, but nothing can replace their usual favourite food.
- The differing temperature conditions at your departure airport, on board (air conditioning) and at your destination can best be dealt with by creating a so-called ‘onion outfit’: dress your child in several layers of clothing which can then be taken off and put back on again as required.
- Think about thick socks as well. As your child’s feet might swell a little at flight altitude, we recommend that you remove their shoes on board.
- Meals that are suitable for children aged two and over can be ordered separately when you book your flight.
At most airports, it’s possible to use a foldable pushchair1 or buggy and to hand it over just before boarding. It will be returned to you immediately after landing.
Please enquire at baggage drop-off whether you can take your buggy or pushchair1 with you and hand it over directly at the aircraft. If you have a connecting flight, please inform our staff at departure whether you do not need your buggy or pushchair until arrival at your final destination (recommended for short connection times) or if it is needed at the transfer airport.
At the departure gate, our staff will make sure that your buggy or pushchair1 is taken on board.
On arrival at the terminal, the buggy or pushchair1 will be returned to you at the passenger boarding bridge or, in the case of a bus transfer to the terminal, at the foot of the aircraft boarding steps.
If you do not receive your buggy or pushchair on arrival, please contact one of our gate staff or the nearest Service Centre. Please note that the return of your buggy or pushchair1 may take a few minutes.
You cannot take your buggy or pushchair1 on board yourself at the following airports:
Addis Ababa, Asmara, Billund, Birmingham, Bordeaux, Bremen, Catania, Copenhagen, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Hannover, London Heathrow, Nice, Olbia, Orlando, Palermo, Riyadh, Rome, Stockholm, Valencia.
Taking a buggy or pushchair1 with you is free of charge.
1 Please note that it must be a fully foldable travel pushchair.
If your child has a cold, give him or her nose drops to help equalise the air pressure. Ideally, apply the drops half an hour before departure and half an hour before landing.
It’s important to us that our young passengers don’t get bored during the flight. That is why we provide an extensive entertainment programme for children and toddlers on board Lufthansa flights. The cabin crew will hand out great children's toys, such as colouring books and puzzles, to our youngest passengers.
The in-flight entertainment programme offers entertainment that is aimed especially at children. The choice includes specially selected documentaries, children’s films, radio plays and lots more. As a parent, you also have the option of blocking your children’s viewing of other channels (the parental lock function – please speak to the crew about this). You will find more information about the in-flight entertainment programme, including entertainment for older children and teenagers on the following page:
Another highlight: on a number of long-haul aircraft (as well as on some Airbus A330s and on all A380s and B747-8is), children can observe the aircraft up close from the pilot’s viewpoint during take-off and landing via external cameras.
If your children are on their first flight with Lufthansa, they will receive a logbook from us on board in which to collect and record their flights. When the logbook is full, they will receive a fantastic pilot’s certificate. Your children will find all the information about the logbook on the following page: