9 essentials for traveling with tots

Traveling with little ones this holiday season? Dana Points, editor-in-chief of Parents magazine, suggests these items to keep kids safe and occupied while on the road.

Béaba Stackable Formula & Snack Containers These stackable food containers can be filled with snacks for older kids or formula for infants. The hook on top allows each stack to attach to your purse or carry-on bag. $12, potterybarn.com

QuickSmart 3-in-1 Travel Bassinet
This portable bassinet also folds into a changing station and diaper bag — great if you get stuck at an airport during a long delay — and provides everything you need for baby once you arrive at your destination. $69.99, amazon.com.

Dana Points, editor in chief of Parents magazine, suggests items to keep kids safe and occupied during family travel this holiday season.

Go Anywhere Booster Seat from Polar Gear BabyThis on-the-go booster gives your child a secure seat right at the table and has a five-point restraint harness and three sets of adjustable straps to secure to a chair. $39.99, amazon.com.

Sock OnsThis adorable mom-invented innovation keeps socks snug on baby's feet. No more lost socks at the airport! $8, sockons.com

Pit Stop Potty ProtectorsAny parent knows that traveling with toddlers means lots of pit stops. These disposable toilet seat covers keep little hands from touching the seat. $9.99, summerinfant.com.

Kalencom 2-in-1 Potette PlusIf you are road tripping, this full-size, potty-on-the-go will save you from having to try and find a restroom at a moment's notice. It uses self-absorbing, disposable liners that discard like a diaper. Put this in the trunk of your car and take it out when you need it. $11.99, kalencon.com

Travel Tot Childproofing KitNow you can childproof a room wherever you go. This kit includes a finger-pinch guard, electrical outlet plug covers, foam corner guards, door knob cover, cord wind-up, sliding door lock, cabinet lock, multi-purpose straps, water thermometer, bandages, forehead thermometer, and a "Shhh, Travel-Tot sleeping" door hanger. $24.95, travel-tot.com.

Original Seaband for ChildrenKids who suffer from motion sickness can place these acupressure bands around their wrists the next time they travel by plane, train, boat or car. $10, drugstore.com

Zoobies Plush Blanket PetThese stuffed animals double as a pillow and blanket. $35, zoobies.com.

Kids gets a place to play at the Airports

By Colleen McBrinn,

 

Chicago Department of Aviation

Chicago O'Hare International Airport has two play areas designed by the Chicago Children's Museum.

Airport planners have finally learned what all parents already knew: Give kids a place to run around, and you’ll have happier, calmer children on board planes, which can translate to happier passengers overall.
At least 30 of the nation’s major airports have (or will soon have) play areas, and some airlines have installed play spaces within their own terminals.
"It’s definitely on the rise,” said Debby McElroy, spokesperson for Airports Council International-North America. “When airports are developing their facilities, they recognize that families with children are spending more time at the airport, and they look at ways to make it a more enjoyable experience, whether it’s art displays, game rooms, DVD kiosks or play areas.”

 

San Francisco International Airport boasts three play spaces, two in the recently remodeled Terminal 2, featuring child-sized rocking chairs and unique art work that doubles as musical instruments.

 

Los Angeles International Airport is incorporating several play spaces in its new terminal to open, in phases, at the end of next year.

 

O’Hare International Airport has two play areas, designed by the Chicago Children’s Museum. One is a 2,200-square-foot space with a two-story air traffic control tower, a cockpit, and cargo hold, complete with luggage to load.

 

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has a 1,400-square-foot play space with soft, aviation-themed equipment as well as a private room for nursing. Nearby Portland International Airport has two play areas. 

“It’s a great way for kids to burn off energy before boarding a plane, and it’s also separation from the business traveler, for example, who wants a quiet place to sit with his laptop,” said Perry Cooper, Sea-Tac Airport’s media and public affairs manager. 
Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group, said catering to families makes good business sense.
“This is a marketing opportunity for airlines and airports to make customers for life,” he said. “If the flying experience from airport to flight to airport isn’t good, then not only will kids not want to take trips, when they grow up they won’t want to travel.”
In 2007, Southwest Airlines began installing family seating areas in their terminals at many airports, complete with low tables and stools, and programming for children on flat-screen TVs.
“We’ve found from our customers that those spaces are very helpful for kids to be able to read, relax, eat or just blow off steam before getting onto the airplane,” said Beth Harbin, senior director of communications for Southwest Airlines. 
American Airlines has play areas in some of its Admiral Clubs, located in 22 of the nation’s airports. Not an Admiral Club member? Buy a $50 day pass, which covers one adult and up to three kids, for access to its play areas, showers, Wi-Fi, and free drinks and snacks.
Colleen Lanin, founder of TravelMamas.com, said while play areas can be hard to find, she’s thrilled more airports have families in mind.

“It’s great they are recognizing that families do travel with kids, and if our kids are able to get their energy out, it’s a better experience for everyone on the plane,” she said.
But if all else fails and you find yourself with squirming kids in tow and no play area in sight, do what Lanin does with her two small kids.

“Before we fly, I have them run around in our backyard or around a fountain at an airport and I pay them 10 cents for each lap,” she said. “It’s a fun way for them to earn a couple bucks to spend at the airport gift shop, and it burns some energy.”

London Airport Gatwick Airlines and destinations

Airlines and destinations

Gatwick has two terminals: North and South. The South Terminal is Gatwick's older and busier terminal, and is also where the airport railway station is located. The following list includes all scheduled services to and from Gatwick Airport, as well as seasonal charter flights.^[141]

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aer Lingus	Cork, Dublin, Knock, Málaga [ends 8 January] Seasonal charter: Grenoble [begins 14 December]	South
Aerosvit Airlines	Kiev-Boryspil	South
AirAsia X	Kuala Lumpur	South
Air Berlin	Nuremberg	North
Air China	Beijing-Capital [begins 1 May 2012][142]	North
Air Europa	Madrid	South
Air Malta	Malta	South
Air Moldova	Chişinău	South
Air Transat	Toronto-Pearson Seasonal: Calgary, Edmonton, Montréal-Trudeau, Vancouver	South
Air Zimbabwe	Harare	South
AirBaltic	Riga	South
Al-Naser Airlines	Baghdad	South
Aurigny Air Services	Guernsey	South
Belavia	Minsk	South
BH Air	Burgas	South
British Airways	Algiers [begins 25 March 2012], Amsterdam, Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, Bologna, Bordeaux, Cancún, Catania, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, Faro, Genoa, Glasgow-International, Grenada, Jersey, Kingston, Málaga, Malé, Manchester, Marseille, Marrakech, Mauritius, Montego Bay [ends 25 March 2012],[143]Naples, Nice [begins 25 March 2012], Orlando, Port of Spain, Pristina, Punta Cana, Rome-Fiumicino, St Kitts, St Lucia, Salzburg, San Juan, Tampa, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Tobago, Tunis, Turin, Venice-Marco Polo, Verona Seasonal: Bari, Geneva, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Paphos, Pisa	North
Bulgaria Air	Seasonal: Varna	South
Cimber Sterling	Billund	South
Croatia Airlines	Zagreb Seasonal: Split	South
Cubana de Aviación	Havana, Holguín	South
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta	North
EasyJet	Aberdeen, Agadir, Alicante, Amman-Queen Alia, Amsterdam, Antalya, Arrecife, Barcelona, Bari [begins 12 June 2012], Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast-International, Bologna, Budapest, Catania, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Faro, Fuerteventura [begins 28 March 2012], Funchal, Geneva, Glasgow-International, Gibraltar, Gothenburg-Landvetter [ends 9 January], Hurghada, Inverness, Izmir, Krakow, Larnaca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Lisbon, Luxor, Málaga, Malta, Marrakech, Murcia, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Porto, Prague, Salzburg, Sharm el-Sheikh, Sofia, Tenerife-South, Valencia, Verona, Zagreb Seasonal: Ajaccio, Bastia, Bodrum, Chania, Corfu, Dalaman, Grenoble, Heraklion, Kefallonia [begins 28 April 2012], Kos, Mykonos, Nantes, Rhodes, Santorini-Thira, Zakynthos	North
EasyJet	Almería, Athens, Berlin-Schönefeld, Bordeaux, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Milan-Linate, Milan-Malpensa, Montpellier, Munich, Nice, Palermo, Pisa, Rome-Fiumicino, Seville, Thessaloniki, Toulouse, Venice-Marco Polo, Vienna, Zürich Seasonal: Biarritz, Dubrovnik, Ibiza, La Rochelle, Minorca, Olbia, Split	South
EasyJet Switzerland	Basel/Mulhouse, Geneva	North
Emirates	Dubai	North
Estonian Air	Tallinn	South
Fly Hellas	Heraklion, Larnaca, Rhodes,	South
Flybe	Aberdeen, Belfast-City, Guernsey, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey, Nantes, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newquay Seasonal: Bergerac Charter: Chambéry	South
Hi Fly	Georgetown, Mount Pleasant	South
Hong Kong Airlines	Hong Kong [begins 8 March 2012][144][145][146]	North
Iceland Express	Reykjavik-Keflavík	South
Jet2.com	Chartered Seasonal: Chambéry	South
Korean Air	Seoul-Incheon [begins 28 April 2012][147][148][149]	North
Lufthansa	Frankfurt	South
Malév Hungarian Airlines	Budapest	North
Meridiana Fly operated by Air Italy	Florence	North
Monarch	Scheduled: Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Lanzarote, Málaga, Milan-Malpensa [begins 25 March 2012], Minorca, Palma de Mallorca, Sharm el Sheikh, Tenerife-South, Venice-Marco Polo [begins 25 March 2012] Scheduled Seasonal: Antalya [begins 3 May 2012], Bodrum, Dalaman, Dubrovnik [begins 1 May 2012], Heraklion [begins 1 May 2012], Ibiza, Larnaca, Paphos Chartered Seasonal: Banjul, Chania, Corfu, Goa, Grenada, Hassi Messaoud, Heraklion, Huesca, Innsbruck, Kefalonia, Kittilä, Kos, Lamezia Terme, Luxor, Malé, Mombasa, Montreal-Trudeau, Mytilene, Preveza, Rhodes, Skiathos, Sofia, Tobago, Volos, Zakynthos	South
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Ålesund, Bergen, Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter [begins 29 March 2012],[150] Helsinki, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda, Trondheim Scheduled Seasonal: Aalborg	South
Nouvelair	Monastir	South
Pegasus Airlines	Seasonal: Antalya, Dalaman	South
Rossiya	St Petersburg	South
Ryanair	Alicante, Cork, Dublin, Kaunas, Madrid, Moss-Rygge, Seville, Shannon, Stockholm-Skavsta Seasonal: Rome-Ciampino	South
SATA International	Ponta Delgada-João Paulo	South
Scandinavian Airlines	Bergen [ends 6 January 2012]	South
Sky Airlines	Seasonal charter: Antalya	South
Strategic Airlines	Corfu, Heraklion, Larnaca, Paphos, Rhodes, Skiathos, Thessaloniki, Zakynthos	South
Sun Country Airlines	Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul	South
Sunwing Airlines	Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson	North
TAP Portugal	Funchal, Lisbon, Porto	South
Thomas Cook Airlines	Antalya, Bodrum, Cancún, Calgary, Cayo Coco, Dalaman, Enfhida, Fuerteventura, Holguín, Hurghada, Izmir, Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Montego Bay, Paphos, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife-South, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver Seasonal: Acapulco, Agadir, Almería, Banjul, Barbados, Brescia, Burgas, Corfu, Djerba, Edmonton, Faro, Geneva, Goa, Grenoble, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Lleida-Alguaire [begins 19 December], Kalamata, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Lemnos, Luxor, Malta, Minorca, Naples, Olbia, Orlando-Sanford, Ottawa, Palma de Mallorca, Preveza, Reus, Rhodes, Rovaniemi, Salzburg, Santorini, Skiathos, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Turin, Varadero, Zakynthos	South
Thomson Airways	Agadir, Alicante, Antalya, Aswan, Banjul, Boa Vista, Cancún, Dalaman, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Girona, Heraklion, Holguín, Lanzarote, La Romana, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Liberia, Luxor, Málaga, Malé, Malta, Marrakech, Marsa Alam, Mersa Matruh, Mombasa, Monastir, Montego Bay, Orlando-Sanford, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Sal, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Sharm el-Sheikh, Taba, Tenerife-South, Varadero Seasonal: Acapulco, Alghero, Aruba, Barbados, Bodrum, Burgas, Catania, Chania, Colombo, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Faro, Figari, Ibiza, İzmir, Kalamata, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Minorca, Mykonos, Mytilene, Naples, Pisa, Plovdiv, Preveza, Pula, Reus, Rhodes, Samos, Samaná, Santorini, Skiathos, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Tivat, Venice-Marco Polo, Verona, Zakynthos	North
Titan Airways	Seasonal Charter: Chambéry	South
Tor Air	Burgas, Chania, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Erbil, Friedrichshafen, Heraklion, Kalamata, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Paphos, Preveza, Rhodes, Sulaimaniya, Santorini, Sharm el-Sheikh, Skiathos, Stockholm-Arlanda, Zakynthos Seasonal: Geneva [begins 10 December]	South
Tunisair	Djerba, Enfidha, Monastir	South
Turkish Airlines	İstanbul-Atatürk [begins 20 December][151][152]	North
Ukraine International Airlines	Kiev-Boryspil	South
United Airways	Dhaka	South
US Airways	Charlotte	South
Vietnam Airlines	Hanoi [begins 9 December],[153][154] Ho Chi Minh City [begins 10 December][153][154]	North
Virgin Atlantic Airways	Antigua, Barbados, Cancún [begins 12 June 2012],[155] Grenada, Havana, Kingston [ends 16 April 2012],[156][157] Las Vegas, Montego Bay, Orlando, St Lucia, Tobago	South

Ground transport to London Airport Gatwick Taxi services

London Heathrow Airport Airlines and destinations

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aegean Airlines	Athens, Larnaca	1
Aer Lingus	Belfast-International, Cork, Dublin, Shannon	1
Aeroflot	Moscow-Sheremetyevo	4
Air Algérie	Algiers	4
Air Astana	Almaty	4
Air Canada	Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montréal-Trudeau, Ottawa, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver Seasonal: St. John's	3
Air China	Beijing-Capital	3
Air France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle	4
Air India	Delhi, Mumbai	4
Air Malta	Malta	4
Air Mauritius	Mauritius	4
Air New Zealand	Auckland, Hong Kong, Los Angeles	1
Air Seychelles	Mahé [ends 8 January]	4
Air Transat	Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson	4
Alitalia	Milan-Linate, Rome-Fiumicino	4
Alitalia operated by Air One	Rome-Fiumicino	4
All Nippon Airways	Tokyo-Narita	3
American Airlines	Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK, Raleigh/Durham	3
Arik Air	Lagos	4
Asiana Airlines	Seoul-Incheon	1
Austrian Airlines	Vienna	1
Austrian Airlines operated by Tyrolean Airways	Vienna	1
Azerbaijan Airlines	Baku	4
Biman Bangladesh Airlines	Dhaka, Dubai	4
BMI	Addis Ababa, Agadir, Almaty, Amman-Queen Alia, Amritsar, Baku, Basel/Mulhouse, Beirut, Belfast-City, Berlin-Brandenburg [begins 3 June 2012], Berlin-Tegel [ends 2 June 2012], Bishkek, Cairo, Casablanca, Damascus, Dammam, Dublin, Edinburgh, Freetown, Jeddah, Khartoum, Manchester, Marrakech, Moscow-Domodedovo, Nice, Riyadh, Tbilisi, Tehran-Imam Khomeini, Tripoli [resumes 26 December], Vienna, Yerevan	1
BMI operated by BMI Regional	Aberdeen, Bergen, Edinburgh, Hanover, Manchester, Stavanger	1
British Airways	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Bucharest-Otopeni, Budapest, Gibraltar, Helsinki, Larnaca, Lisbon, Prague, Singapore, Sydney, Vienna, Warsaw	3
British Airways	Aberdeen, Abu Dhabi, Abuja, Accra, Algiers [ends 24 March 2012], Amsterdam, Athens, Atlanta, Bahrain, Baltimore, Bangalore, Barcelona, Basel/Mulhouse, Beijing-Capital, Berlin-Brandenburg [Begins 3 June 2012], Berlin-Tegel [Ends 2 June 2012], Bologna [begins 29 April 2012], Boston, Brussels, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cairo, Calgary, Cape Town, Chennai, Chicago-O'Hare, Copenhagen, Dallas/Fort Worth, Dar es Salaam, Delhi, Denver, Doha, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Entebbe, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow-International, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Grand Cayman, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Houston-Intercontinental, Hyderabad, Istanbul-Atatürk, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Kiev-Boryspil, Kuwait, Lagos, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Luanda, Lusaka, Luxembourg, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Mexico City, Miami, Milan-Linate, Milan-Malpensa, Montréal-Trudeau, Moscow-Domodedovo, Mumbai, Munich, Muscat, Nairobi, Nassau, New York-JFK, Newark, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nice, Oslo-Gardermoen, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pisa, Providenciales, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Riyadh, Rome-Fiumicino, St Petersburg, San Diego, San Francisco, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Seattle/Tacoma, Shanghai-Pudong, Sofia, Stockholm-Arlanda, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Tokyo-Haneda, Tokyo-Narita, Toronto-Pearson, Toulouse, Vancouver, Venice, Washington-Dulles, Zürich	5
Brussels Airlines	Brussels	1
Bulgaria Air	Sofia	4
Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong	3
China Airlines	Taipei-Taoyuan	4
China Eastern Airlines	Shanghai-Pudong	4
Continental Airlines	Houston-Intercontinental, Newark	4
Croatia Airlines	Zagreb Seasonal: Rijeka, Split	1
Cyprus Airways	Larnaca	1
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK	4
EgyptAir	Cairo, Luxor, Sharm el-Sheikh	3
El Al	Tel Aviv	1
Emirates	Dubai	3
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa	3
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi	4
EVA Air	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Taipei-Taoyuan	3
Finnair	Helsinki	3
Gulf Air	Bahrain	4
Iberia	Madrid	3
Icelandair	Reykjavik-Keflavík	1
Iran Air	Tehran-Imam Khomeini	3
Japan Airlines	Tokyo-Narita	3
Jat Airways	Belgrade	4
Jet Airways	Delhi, Mumbai	4
Kenya Airways	Nairobi	4
Kingfisher Airlines	Delhi, Mumbai	4
KLM	Amsterdam	4
KLM operated by KLM Cityhopper	Amsterdam	4
Korean Air	Seoul-Incheon	4
Kuwait Airways	Kuwait, New York-JFK	4
Libyan Arab Airlines	Tripoli	4
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw	1
Lufthansa	Cologne/Bonn [resumes 25 March 2012], Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich	1
Lufthansa operated by BMI	Cologne/Bonn [ends 25 March 2012]	1
Lufthansa Regional operated by Contact Air	Stuttgart	1
Malaysia Airlines	Kuala Lumpur	4
Middle East Airlines	Beirut	3
Oman Air	Muscat	3
Pakistan International Airlines	Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Sialkot	3
Qantas	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi [ends 25 March 2012][42], Hong Kong [ends 25 March 2012][42], Melbourne, Singapore, Sydney	3
Qatar Airways	Doha	4
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca, Tangier	4
Royal Brunei Airlines	Bandar Seri Begawan, Dubai	4
Royal Jordanian	Amman-Queen Alia	3
Saudi Arabian Airlines	Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh	4
Scandinavian Airlines	Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda	3
Singapore Airlines	Singapore	3
South African Airways	Cape Town, Johannesburg	1
SriLankan Airlines	Colombo, Malé, Zürich [resumes 23 December] [43]	4
Swiss International Air Lines	Geneva, Zürich	1
Syrian Air	Damascus	4
TAM Airlines	Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, São Paulo-Guarulhos	1
TAP Portugal	Lisbon, Funchal	1
TAROM	Bucharest-Otopeni	4
Thai Airways International	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi	3
Transaero	Moscow-Domodedovo	1
Tunisair	Tunis	4
Turkish Airlines	Antalya, Istanbul-Atatürk	3
Turkmenistan Airlines	Ashgabat	3
United Airlines	Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles	1
US Airways	Philadelphia	1
Uzbekistan Airlines	Tashkent	1
Virgin Atlantic Airways	Accra, Boston, Delhi, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Lagos, Los Angeles, Miami, Nairobi, New York-JFK, Newark, San Francisco, Shanghai-Pudong, Sydney, Tokyo-Narita, Washington-Dulles Seasonal: Cape Town, Chicago-O'Hare, Vancouver [begins 24 May 2012][44]	3
Vueling Airlines	A Coruña, Bilbao, Vigo	3

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