From getting through security checkpoints to dealing with unexpected flight delays, airline travel is messy and then some.
To glide through the process as effortlessly as possible, you really need an airport dad in your crew. What, exactly, is an “airport dad”? The term went viral on TikTok around 2021, when kids began documenting their hyperfocused, multitasking dads in airports.
Such dads handle a number of thankless tasks at the airport: Carrying the group’s boarding passes, ensuring that everyone gets to the airport with ample time to go through security, making sure transportation is booked to and from the airport. They do it all with gusto ― and usually while making dad jokes. (We should give it up to moms here, too; dads may take over mental load at the airport but it’s generally mom who packed the suitcases, ensured everyone has the correct clothes for the climate and enough SPF.)
You don’t necessarily have to be an actual dad (or even a man) to inhabit the role of airport dad: On TikTok, you’ll find plenty of 20-something, childless airport daddies fearlessly leading their groups through the airport.
Airport dadding is for everyone ― and given how stressful travel is lately, we need more of them out there. With that in mind, we asked airport dads to share the tips they’d give someone looking to take on the role.
Make sure the kids have various entertainment options.
Travel blogger Lee Huffman has two kids, ages 9 and 13, both of whom started flying at 6 weeks old. (“At this point, they have more passport stamps than most of my adult friends,” Huffman told HuffPost.)
If you’re similarly traveling with kids, Huffman said, his No. 1 tip is to prep all their favorite things in advance: bring their go-to snacks, charge devices and download videos ahead of time. Unless you want grumpy kids, you don’t want to be entertainment-less in the airport.
“Keeping kids entertained and well-fed is a great way to keep them happy while traveling,” he told HuffPost. “As they get older, you can involve them in this process by assigning tasks and responsibilities, but even when they become teenagers, I still think it’s a good idea to create a checklist and double check to ensure nothing is forgotten.”
Track the flight starting 24 hours before departure.
To avoid, or at least be prepared for, travel hiccups, make sure…
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