[davinok]

Are there any health guidelines for how old an infant should be before traveling in an airplane? I thought i had heard that they should be 2 months old but saw on another thread that some folks flew home with there babies as early as 7 days. Has anyone heard of any risks or problems with this?
Thanks for your advice.

[LisaCA]

you probably saw my post. We flew with our daughter at 8 days old, but there are a few caveats. First, she was full term and absolutely healthy. Her mom had a prenatal care and took no drugs, alcohol, etc. We had our daughter fully checked out 24 hours before travel and had a note stating she was absolutely healthy. We also flew a one stop (no plane change) flight from Chicago to LA, so it wasn't too much travel time. We took her to a doc the next day for a check up.

The risks as I know them are that there may be something that surfaces and you're traveling rather than at home so it may take you longer to get to a doc. Also planes are notorious for "cooties". The same air is circulated over and over so if anyone has something like TB, lots of folks are exposed. Still it was better than staying put in an expensive hotel for an additional week or so. Since we had to go out to dinner, she was exposed to germs there.

Given the fact that she was so small, everyone on the plane wanted to touch her- a big no-no. We just said she was too small for that contact and folks respected that.

lots of folks think babies should be kept indoors for weeks, but I think that was more for the health of the mom. I'd just try and keep babies from colds, flu etc but then again, I ended up with one:-).

I would do it again in a heartbeat, as long as I knew she was healthy and the flight was quick (no layover), and as long as it wasn't cold/flu season (late november thru February). If I was traveling during the winter I'd probably try and get empty flights and I'd wait til she was 2 weeks+ old.

LisaCA

[davinok]

Thanks so much for the information. We wil keep it in mind.

[tobeafamily]

Davinok,

The FAA requires that an infant under 14 days have a statement from an MD to the effect that they are healthy and safe to fly. Different airlines have different policies above and beyond that.

Here's the catch: This is all very unevenly enforced. When our son was born in Texas (we live in Virginia) we carefully researched the regulations and figured if we met the FAA rules we were OK. Ryan was 17 days old when we flew, so we had met what we thought were all the criteria. We left Houston, no problem. When we went to board our connecting flight in Atlanta, we were stopped by the gate attendant who said our son was 'too young to fly' - AirTran had a policy (2 years ago, so it might have changed since then) that children under 6 weeks could not fly. My response 'Well, he's 3 hours older than when he got on your plane in Houston'. After consulting with a supervisor, they allowed us to continue home.

My best advice is this: If you are going to fly before 14 days, get a doctor's cert. It takes only a short time to do. Also, call the airlines you are likely to fly and find out what, if any, policies they have regarding infant travel and be prepared for enforcement. Keep in mind that it may or may not happen depending on your gate attendant! If I had known about AirTran's policy, I'd have chosen another airline and saved ourselves the hassle and upset.

HTH,

Regina, AMom to Ryan Joshua Thomas

[Sarah0518]

It's definately not well enforced, because when asked Delta about a minimum age, they said there wasn't one. Didn't have any trouble going thru the airport, but when boarding the stewardess asked how old he was. They were probably only making conversation, but it made me paranoid. I fudged an said 2 weeks. He was actually only 1-1/2 weeks, so it was only by a few days.

[GregDeanna]

I know it has been a year since someone posted on this but I think that others still read these postings to get information on flying with an infant.

My daughter was 30 hours old when we flew her home from North Carolina to Minneapolis on Northwest Airlines. We had no problems. This was on Oct 14th, 2003. When talking with her doctor they recommended flying instead of driving because of the long drive. I talked to about 5 other doctors who all agreed with my doc.

[mommieof2cuties]

Most airlines say 72 hours old for a long flight. Jetblue says a baby 3 days to 2 years flys free on the parents lap...I find this unsafe should the plane hit a bad patch, the baby should be in the newborn seat hooked into the plane seat. Should you go down....the baby will be safe in the seat and will not be thrown from your arms. I was on a flight one night and a lady allowed her six week old to sleep the the plane tray! I just about died! I am big into being safe. Some airlines offer a discount to your baby under two for flying them in a carseat...delta was half price for a while. So look into things...hope this was helpful.

God Bless,
Summer