Emirates Infant Policy: Bassinets, Fares and Lap Children

Lap or a seat of their own

The safest way for a baby to fly is in an approved child restraint in their own seat — in turbulence an adult's arms are not a restraint. A lap infant is legal and extremely common, but it is the affordable option rather than the safe one.

On a fourteen-hour sector there is also a practical argument. A baby who does not fit a bassinet and has no seat spends the whole flight on a lap, which is hard on everyone. Pricing a seat properly is worth doing before dismissing it.

Car seats and strollers

• An approved car seat can be used on board where you have bought a seat, carrying a certification label the airline recognises.
• Approval marks differ between regions. A seat bought in the United States may carry a mark that needs checking — ask before you travel rather than at the gate.
• Strollers and car seats are generally carried at no additional charge, checked or gate-checked.
• Gate-check the stroller so it stays with you through the terminal.
• Use a padded bag for anything gate-checked.

Documents for the baby

• A passport, including for a newborn. There is no exemption for infants and processing takes weeks.
• Any visa or travel authorisation the destination requires for the infant in their own right.
• A transit requirement where the routing connects through a third country — this depends on the baby's nationality, not yours.
• A consent letter where only one parent travels, which several destinations expect.
• Check requirements by the baby's nationality, which may differ from the parents' where passports differ.

The passport is the item that stops trips. Start it as soon as an international journey is a possibility.

Baggage for a baby

• Infant baggage allowances on Gulf carriers are frequently more generous than the US norm — ask rather than assuming the baby has nothing.
• A stroller and car seat are generally carried in addition.
• Formula, breast milk and baby food are exempt from the usual liquid limits in reasonable quantities. Declare them at security.
• Pack for a long flight. On a fourteen-hour sector you will need more feeds, more nappies and more changes of clothes than any domestic trip has taught you.

Booking a trip around a baby's day

• Fly when your baby normally sleeps where the schedule allows.
• Nonstop beats a connection almost every time — a connection means waking them and another take-off and landing.
• If you must connect, leave real margin. A tight transfer that works alone is miserable with a pram and a feed to fit in.
• Consider the time difference. On these routes the baby's body clock is the hardest part of the trip, not the flight.
• Avoid the last departure of the day.

Travelling as two adults, or as one

• Two adults: a window and an aisle on a three-seat row often leaves the middle empty, and if it fills the passenger will usually swap.
• One adult: an aisle seat is worth more than a window, because you will be getting up.
• Only one lap infant per adult, so a second infant needs a seat and an approved restraint.
• Whoever is not holding the baby carries everything else. Pack with that division in mind.
• Agree in advance who does what at security and boarding.

Getting through the airport

• Allow far more time than you would alone.
• Use the family lane at security where one exists.
• You will carry the baby through the detector while the carrier is scanned.
• Keep milk, formula and food accessible, since they are screened separately.
• Change the baby immediately before boarding.
• Find the changing facilities at the hub in advance — these are very large airports and they are not near every gate.
• Do not rely on buying supplies airside.

The flight itself

• Feed on the way up and the way down. Sucking equalises ear pressure.
• Do not wake a sleeping baby for descent.
• Dress in layers.
• Request a baby meal in advance if the child is on solids — long-haul flights carry them.
• Ask which lavatory has the changing table.
• Accept help when it is offered. Crew on these routes see a great many babies and are generally very good with them.

What families most often get wrong

• Assuming their baby will fit the bassinet without measuring. Length catches people out more than weight.
• Upgrading for the baby's comfort without knowing the First Class bassinet is reported as smaller.
• Requesting the bassinet late, when the bulkhead seats have gone.
• Assuming the 10 per cent infant fare buys a seat.
• Leaving the baby's passport until the flights are booked.
• Overlooking transit requirements for the baby's nationality.
• Packing for a domestic trip on a fourteen-hour flight.

The first flight, and what actually goes wrong

Parents booking a first flight with a baby almost always worry about the wrong thing. The crying is what everyone fears; it is rarely what causes the problem.

What actually goes wrong is timing. Families arrive with the margin they would allow themselves alone, then find that a nappy change, a feed, a security queue with a pram and a child who will not go in the carrier have eaten an hour. The fix is simple and unglamorous: leave earlier than feels reasonable, and accept that you will sometimes be sitting at the gate with nothing to do. That is the good outcome.

The second thing is supplies. People pack for the flight rather than for the day. A two-hour flight that becomes a six-hour day after a delay needs more feeds, more nappies and more changes of clothes than the schedule suggests — and airside there is frequently nothing to buy, or nothing in the brand your baby will accept.

The third is the other passengers, and here the worry is mostly misplaced. Cabin crew deal with babies constantly and are generally very good with them. Most passengers are more sympathetic than parents expect, particularly if you look like you are coping rather than apologising. Walking the aisle with an unsettled baby is normal and nobody minds.

A short packing list for the cabin bag

• More feeds than the flight needs — assume a delay.
• More nappies than the flight needs, with wipes and a changing mat.
• Two changes of clothes for the baby, and one top for you. Both get used more often than people expect.
• Nappy bags, since not every aircraft lavatory has a bin that takes them.
• A muslin or blanket, which doubles as shade, a feeding cover and something familiar.
• Any medication, including infant paracetamol if your doctor approves it — a baby who becomes unwell in the air is not a situation to improvise.
• A dummy or comforter, and a spare, because the first one will go on the floor.
• The documents in one folder rather than spread between a bag and a phone.

How Fond Travels can help

• We check your baby's measurements against the bassinet limits before you build a long-haul trip around one.
• We request the bassinet at booking and secure bulkhead seating where it exists.
• We get the actual infant fare rather than estimating, including how it works on award bookings.
• We check the passport, visa and transit position for the baby by their nationality.
• We build the itinerary around the baby's day and the time difference, not just the fare.
• We answer at any hour, which with a baby in the house is more useful than it sounds.

To plan a trip with a baby, call +1 (323) 800 6001. A travel expert answers any hour.