What It Means
A gate check is when the airline takes an item from you at the boarding gate, or beside the plane, and carries it in the hold. Families use it most for strollers and car seats, which several large U.S. airlines check free for a customer traveling with a child. A carry-on bag can be gate-checked too, and the FAA's battery rule applies the moment that happens.
Try It: Walk Through a Gate Check, Step by Step
Five steps from booking to landing. Use Next and Back to move through them.
Before the trip
Read your airline's page on children's items. Delta, American, Southwest and Alaska each check a stroller and a car seat free for a customer traveling with a child.
At security
The stroller and car seat go through the X-ray. If one is too big for the machine, TSA officers inspect it by hand.
At the gate
Tell the gate agent before boarding that you want to check the stroller or car seat there.
Before you hand over a bag
Take out spare batteries and power banks. The FAA says they stay with you in the cabin.
When you land
Ask where the item will be waiting, and look it over for damage before you leave the airport.
How People Say It
- "We'll push the stroller to the gate and check it there."
- "They're gate-checking bags on this flight."
- "Grab the power bank before they take the bag."
The Breakdown
How to gate check a stroller or car seat
- Read your airline's page on children's baggage before the trip. Delta, American Airlines, Southwest and Alaska Airlines each check a stroller and a car seat free for a customer traveling with a child.
- Take both through security. TSA screens strollers, car seats, booster seats and baby carriers by X-ray, and officers inspect by hand anything too big for the machine.
- Tell the gate agent before boarding that you'd like to check the stroller or car seat at the gate.
- Before any bag leaves your hands, remove spare lithium batteries and power banks. The FAA requires them to stay with you in the cabin.
- Ask where the item will be waiting when you land, and check it over before you leave the airport.
Try it today. Open your airline's children's baggage page and write down two answers: is the stroller free, and can it be checked at the gate?
What four airlines say
| Airline | Free for a customer traveling with a child | Where it can be checked |
|---|---|---|
| Delta | Strollers and car seats, outside standard baggage | Curb, ticket counter or gate |
| American Airlines | 1 stroller and 1 car seat per ticketed customer | Strollers at the gate before boarding |
| Southwest | 1 stroller and 1 car seat per ticketed customer | See Southwest's policy page |
| Alaska Airlines | A child's car seat and stroller | With other checked bags, or at the gate |
When a car seat has to be gate-checked. Delta says a car seat must be checked at the gate by a Delta agent when you haven't bought the child a seat and no empty seat is free in your row.
Good to Know
The airline rules above come from each airline's own website, and other carriers set their own, so read yours before you pack. Batteries fall under the FAA: spare lithium batteries, power banks and phone battery cases stay in the cabin, even when the bag they were in gets checked at the gate or beside the plane.
FAQ
Is it free to gate check a stroller?
At Delta, American Airlines, Southwest and Alaska Airlines, yes, for a customer traveling with a child, according to each airline's own policy. Other airlines set their own rules, so check before you fly.
Does a stroller go through the X-ray at security?
Yes. TSA screens strollers, car seats and baby carriers by X-ray. If one won't fit through the machine, officers inspect it by hand.
What should I take out of a bag before it's gate-checked?
Spare lithium batteries, power banks and phone battery cases. The FAA says they have to stay with you in the cabin when a carry-on is checked at the gate or planeside.
Do It in Buhata
Reminders
Set a Reminder for the morning of your flight to move power banks and spare batteries into the bag that stays with you.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- 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.
- 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.
- Packing list
A written list of everything to bring on a trip, ticked off as each item goes in a bag so nothing important gets left behind.
Sources
Delta Air Lines, "Children & Infant Baggage"; American Airlines, "Traveling with children"; Southwest Airlines, "Stroller & Child Items Policy"; Alaska Airlines, "Traveling with strollers and car seats"; Transportation Security Administration, "Traveling with Children"; Federal Aviation Administration, "PackSafe: Lithium Batteries"
- www.delta.com/us/en/children-infant-travel/children-infant-baggage
- www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/special-assistance/traveling-children.jsp
- support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/article/stroller-and-child-items-policy
- www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/policies/strollers-car-seats
- www.tsa.gov/travel/tsa-cares/traveling-children
- www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/lithium-batteries
Last updated .