Flying With An Infant - Homeland Security Travel Restrictions
When traveling with an infant, the time to prepare as well as the effort more than doubles as opposed to traveling by yourself. Today's Homeland security travel restrictions can be somewhat challenging as well as add a significant amount of preparation time.
In order to be prepared for these changes, it is best to start the preparation process before leaving your house. In the even that you are not departing from home, but from a hotel room, or friend or relatives house, extra considerations need to be made before leaving.
If you are going to or from a foreign country the restrictions could be even more challenging. Preparations should be started several weeks in advance, with the first step involving how long you plan on being away in the foreign country. This decision will be the difference in applying for separate passports for the infant and yourself. If you will only be gone for a few months or less then you might be able to include the infant's name on the passport.
If a foreign country is part of your travel plans then you also need to obtain visas for both you and your infant. Most certainly you will also need the birth certificate for your child. Depending on which country you are traveling to it will be necessary to have immunizations completed. These records should be with you as well. The discussion above applies to most foreign countries of travel. However, it is a good idea to check with your travel agent or research online if travel to countries such as Canada is less restrictive.
In any case, the very first step in your travel preparation is to get all your travel documents ready for your infant. With this accomplished it is time to pay attention to your infantas special needs during travel. You should be able to address most of these without much extra effort because you are traveling. Infants are special and most of their needs are special enough that it makes little difference whether they are at home or at the airport or flying. But here are some points to pay attention to.
Many airlines do allow carriers for infants, however you should check to see what restrictions are in place for your portable car seat. It should be small enough to fit inside the x-ray scanning system and the check-in point, and have no small metal pieces sticking out that could be dismantled or taken off.
Special attention will also need to be given to your infants medicine. Homeland security restrictions state that only a certain amount of liquids may be carried by your person. If not breast feeding then powder formula in a plastic bag might be a smart option. Bottled water can be purchased once the security check-point has been crossed, and used to mix with the powder. Liquid medications should also be in clearly labeled containers, and contain no more than the amount specified in the volume.
Traveling should be fun and rewarding, and having an infant in today's world should not impose on your travel plans, or fun. Security restrictions are in place for a reason, though it can add a significant amount of time to the preparation process. However in most cases, most if it is probably already done, considering you are traveling with an infant. It also ensures that travel is safe and orderly, which could be considered the first step towards having fun.
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