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Travel and outings with kids

Flying with a baby

Air travel with a child under 2, which starts with one choice: a lap infant on an adult's lap, or a ticketed seat with an FAA-approved car seat.

What It Means

Flying with a baby means taking a child under 2 on a plane, either held on an adult's lap or buckled into a seat of their own. The FAA allows both for a child who hasn't turned 2, and it recommends a ticketed seat with an approved child restraint for the entire flight. Each airline's own rules decide fares, proof of age and how many babies one adult can hold.

Try It: Walk Through a Flight With a Baby

Six steps, from booking to the seat belt sign. Use Next and Back.

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Lap or seat

A child under 2 can ride on a lap. The FAA recommends a ticketed seat with an approved car seat for the whole flight.

How People Say It

  • "Should we just buy her a seat?"
  • "Is our car seat even allowed on the plane?"
  • "I've got the birth certificate in the diaper bag."

The Breakdown

How to plan the flight

  1. Pick lap or seat. A child under 2 may fly on an adult's lap, but the FAA recommends a ticketed seat with an approved child restraint, and a ticket is the only way to be sure the car seat can be used.
  2. Match the dates to the baby's age. At American Airlines, a lap infantLap infantA child under 2 who flies on an adult's lap without a seat of their own. The FAA allows it but recommends a ticketed seat and an approved car seat. See more must be under 2 for the whole trip, and each ticketed adult can hold one lap infant.
  3. Check the car seat's label. It needs red lettering saying it's certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft, or a foreign government's approval marking.
  4. Check the fit. U.S. airlines post the narrowest and widest seat in each cabin on their websites, and a car seat generally goes by the window, never in an exit row.
  5. Pack the papers. Airlines can ask for a birth certificateBirth certificateThe official record of a birth, kept by the vital records office of the state or territory where the birth took place. See more or passport to prove a lap infant is under 2, and Southwest won't accept a photo of it on your phone. Before packing milk, formula or baby food, look up TSA's current screening rules.
  6. Buckle in on board. Install the car seat the way its maker's instructions say and keep the baby in it for the whole flight. Booster seats and baby carriers aren't allowed during taxi, takeoff or landing.

Short version to try today. Decide lap or seat, then read the labels on your car seat for the red aircraft wording. Those two answers tell you what to book.

If the car seat doesn't fit. When an approved car seat has a ticketed seat and still doesn't fit, the airline is responsible for placing it in another seat in the same class of service.

Good to Know

The FAA says a parent's arms can't hold a baby securely in unexpected turbulence, and it strongly urges an approved child restraint for the whole flight. For an international trip, check the U.S. State Department's travel site for passport and entry rules. Read your airline's infant page too, since fares and proof-of-age rules vary between airlines.

FAQ

Does a baby need their own seat on a plane?

A child under 2 can fly on an adult's lap. The FAA recommends a seat of their own with an approved child restraint, since a parent's arms can't hold a baby securely in unexpected turbulence.

Can I bring my car seat on the plane?

Yes, when it carries the red aircraft certification label and your baby has a ticketed seat. If it doesn't fit the assigned seat, the airline has to place it in another seat in the same class.

What documents does a baby need to fly?

Airlines can ask for proof that a lap infant is under 2, such as a birth certificate or passport. Southwest takes the original or a paper copy, and without proof you'd have to buy the child a ticket. On international trips, American Airlines also issues lap infants a ticket priced at 1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more% of the adult fare plus taxes.

Do It in Buhata

Tasks

List the six steps as Tasks in Buhata with a date on each, starting with the lap or seat decision before you book.

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Related Terms and Categories

  • Lap infant

    A child under 2 who flies on an adult's lap without a seat of their own. The FAA allows it but recommends a ticketed seat and an approved car seat.

  • FAA-approved car seat

    A child car seat labeled as certified for use in both motor vehicles and aircraft, so it can be used in a child's ticketed airplane seat.

  • Gate check

    Handing a stroller, car seat or carry-on bag to the airline at the boarding gate so it travels in the hold instead of the cabin.

  • Passport for kids

    A U.S. passport for a child under 16. The child applies in person on Form DS-11 with both parents' consent, and it's valid for 5 years.

  • Jet lag in kids

    The mismatch between a child's body clock, still on home time, and the clock where they've landed after crossing time zones, which can upset their sleep.

Travel and outings with kids

Sources

Federal Aviation Administration, "Child Safety: Keep Your Little One Safe When You Fly"; Federal Aviation Administration, "Does the FAA require children on commercial flights to be in child restraint systems (CRS)?"; Federal Aviation Administration, Advisory Circular AC 120-87C, "Use of Child Restraint Systems on Aircraft"; American Airlines, "Traveling with children"; Southwest Airlines, "Lap Child Documents"

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