Flying with Baby » Arriving

Immigration - Passport Control

Flying with Baby — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:01:01 +0000

Once you’ve arrived you will need to be processed by immigration and then by customs once you’ve retrieved your luggage. The queues for immigration are likely to be long, especially if more than one international flight has landed.Some airports (eg Tokyo-Narita) have priority queues for people travelling with small children and officials in other airports (eg Bangkok and Heathrow) will pull anyone with a baby to the front of a queue. This sometimes happens with check-in queues and security queues too. The best experience we’ve had was in Narita where we were pulled to the front of every queue - including at the JAL hotel. As we arrived quite late at night with a jet-lagged baby this was great.

TIP - fill in your entry cards before the plane lands. Make sure you have filled in both sides and every section - don’t forget to sign it! This saves a lot of time at immigration control.
TIP - have all of your passports in a readily accessible spot - I like to put my entry card inside my passport (and the kids) to mark the photo page. This makes it easier for the customs officer and gets you through the process quicker.

Getting off the plane

Flying with Baby — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:56:54 +0000

Have you ever noticed the way that everyone jumps to their feet the minute the plane rolls to a stop and clamber over each other to get their bags down from the overhead locker only to wait in a queue to disembark? Even if they make it through immigration control quicker than everyone else, most people are going to end up waiting for their bags (which always seem to take longer to come out the earlier you arrive at the carousel).It’s no fun standing squished in a queue with a baby and for that reason we always wait until the plane is almost empty before getting up from our seats. You are more likely to be able to get assistance from the cabin crew if you are one of the last off the plane (as they want to get off themselves) and it gives you a better chance of rounding up loose items without being bumped into or pressured to move out of the way. It also gives ground staff time to bring your stroller up from the plane’s hold if you asked for gate delivery.
In the hour or so before landing, once the last meal is cleared and everyone else is lining up for the toilet , I take the opportunity to start repacking the cabin bags and clearing up all the mess (empty cups, packaging, tissues etc) in the plastic shopping bag as well as filling in the immigration cards and getting our passports ready in an accessible place. That way all we have to do is scoop up the little items like bottles and dummies/pacifiers and grab baby and the bags and get off the plane.

Of course, if you don’t have the luxury of time because you have a connecting flight then you should have everything ready and join the swarming masses in the queues. Unfortunately not everyone is mindful of small children and it can get quite pushy - so it’s usually best to carry toddlers until you get out to the main area of the airport.

Tip - arriving and disembarking

Flying with Baby — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:44:28 +0000

If you are not in a rush then wait on the plane for everyone else to disembark so that you have time to gather all your belongings

Tip - arriving

Flying with Baby — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:43:14 +0000

Always carry a spare t-shirt for yourself and your partner in case of spills on the plane (extremely likely if you have a lapsit baby!). Get changed once you land - chances are that you will have a long wait at immigration and at the baggage carousel anyway. I generally avoid using the toilets before landing and wait until we disembark. In most airports there are several sets of toilets in the terminal. The toilets closest to the gate will be the busiest, so unless you need the baby change room keep walking until the next set of toilets.

Tip - passport control

Flying with Baby — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:42:05 +0000

Fill in your entry cards before the plane lands. Make sure you have filled in both sides and every section - don’t forget to sign it! This saves a lot of time at immigration control.

Tip - passports

Flying with Baby — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:41:43 +0000

Have all of your passports in a readily accessible spot - I like to put my entry card inside my passport (and the kids) to mark the photo page. This makes it easier for the customs officer and gets you through the process quicker.