Air travel can be stressful enough when you’re on your own. Throw kids into the mix and the difficulty only multiples exponentially.
But so does the opportunity for humour.
Many of the hilarious parents on Twitter have shared their funny stories and musings – as well as a few vent sessions – about the experience of flying with their children.
Below, we’ve rounded up 35 particularly relatable and LOL-worthy ones.
1.
If you guys ever want to know what it felt like to wear the scarlet 'A', board a plane with 4 kids.
— JennyPentland, GED (@JennyPentland) June 27, 2012
2.
Not to brag but my kid holds the record for most consecutive screaming on a five hour plane ride to Hawaii. Welcome to paradise.
— ThisOneSays (@ThisOneSayz) May 9, 2017
3.
Backpack contents for plane trip:
— Robert Knop (@FatherWithTwins) October 17, 2014
- enough food and drinks for my kids to eat for a month
- 1 water for my wife and I to share
4.
Flying with kids can be stressful, especially taking a toddler to those tiny bathrooms, but when we came out, I never expected people to chuckle because although I got her pull-up on, I forgot her pants so she shuffled all the way back to her seat with them at her ankles.
— Nonchalant Charlotte (@jellybnbonanza) February 5, 2020
5.
Off 2 vacay for a couple days w/ the fam. Apologizing in advance 2 the nice folks sitting in front of my kids on the plane. I'm so so sorry.
— Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) August 20, 2012
6.
When kids sense someone can’t stand them, they deliberately misbehave out of spite. That crying baby on the plane is your fault.
— James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@XplodingUnicorn) September 2, 2013
7.
Young mother, trying to shepherd three small kids onto the plane at 5:30 in the morning.
— Steve Olivas (@steveolivas) May 7, 2019
She has that “death would be a lateral move” look on her face.
8.
[Overheard in Newark airport]
— Mommy Owl (@Lhlodder) August 10, 2018
Kid: *boarding plane to TX* “Mom, are we going on a time-machine to the Wild West?”
Mom: “We are going on an airplane to the deep south, so... yes, yes we are.”
9.
My kids are giving all the people on this plane a hard lesson in birth control right now.
— inappropriate mom (@nicfit75) May 8, 2012
10.
We boarded the plane with the kids when they called “parents with small children.” Our kids are 9, but the airline let us on anyway. I’m drunk with power. THE WHOLE WORLD BELONGS TO ME!!
— Robert Knop (@FatherWithTwins) April 16, 2019
111.
On a flight I once asked the flight attendant to switch my seat as I was sitting next to a screaming baby.
— Jack's Dad (@DaddingAround) April 8, 2018
Apparently you're not allowed to do that if it's your own baby.#parenting
12.
I made a rookie parenting mistake and told my kid we were going to fly on an airplane today.
— Stay at Homies (@stayathomies) May 23, 2019
She's asked me if it's time to get on the airplane about 35 times in the 45 minutes since I told her.
Our flight isn't until 3pm.
13.
The next time I go on a cross country flight with my 5 kids I'm just going to wear a pantsuit made of towels.
— Jeannie Gaffigan (@jeanniegaffigan) July 3, 2013
14.
Flying with my 8 year old is like being a contestant in a marathon of Jeopardy.
— @itssherifield (@itssherifield) July 14, 2022
15.
Every thing you've ever seen a parent do in public that you've disagreed with I've done in this airport today.
— sweatpants cher🔸 (@House_Feminist) April 28, 2015
16.
“If you do that again you’re not getting the iPad on the plane,” I attempt to say with a straight face to my 4 year old
— Molly Erdman (@erdmanmolly) April 3, 2018
17.
On our way to the airport:
— Dave Learns Dadding (@DaveLearnsToDad) February 4, 2019
Wife: So kiddo, what do we do once we get on the airplane?
Three year old: we put our seatbelts on! because sometimes the pilot CWASHES the plane into the ocean.
Wife:
Me:
3yo: it’s vewy, vewy, vewy important to be safe!
18.
The best thing about flying with children is ...
— Jessie (@mommajessiec) March 17, 2019
Hold on; this is going to take me a minute.
19.
Ever dropped a tic tac into a bottle of Diet Coke? I would advise against doing it mid flight 😬🙄#flyingwithkids
— ADHD Mum💕 (@adhd_mum) July 21, 2019
20.
Kids can’t make up their minds.
— Moe (@Mochievous) February 21, 2019
This baby has been equal parts laughing and crying (both done very loudly and with disregard to everyone else) since we started flying.
It’s been 9 hours!
21.
Woman traded aisle seat for a middle seat so I could sit near my kids. Which shows people will do anything to get away from kids on a plane
— Kelcey Kintner (@mamabirddiaries) January 23, 2017
22.
I’m on an American Airlines flight w my kids and it doesn’t have screens on the back of seats. It’s okay that this plane exists but when you buy tickets a big siren should go off & say do not bring your kids on this plane or you will have to talk to/look at them. #No
— rob delaney (@robdelaney) April 19, 2019
23.
The best thing about sitting next to a kid on a plane is that you can kick the seat in front of you as much as you want & never get blamed.
— Kelley (@KelleysBreakRm) June 9, 2014
24.
My wife is always worried about our kids acting up on the plane. Fortunately, she's made us all tuna fish sandwiches for the flight, which is sure to endear us to the other passengers.
— Henpecked Hal (@HenpeckedHal) November 19, 2022
25.
My 5yo said she wanted to sit next to her father on the flight, so he’s sitting in between our two kids and I’m sitting across the aisle and I’m pretty sure this is the most relaxed I’ll be all week.
— Snarky Mommy (@SnarkyMommy78) August 14, 2021
26.
The cuteness of my toddler loading his teddy bear onto the conveyor belt at airport security is directly proportional to the agony of his screaming when you’re on our plane.
— Dad and Buried (@DadandBuried) September 2, 2018
27.
People get mad when you take your baby on a plane but the alternative is putting it in the cargo hold and I mean I'm currently on hold with Delta but I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a no.
— The Dad (@thedad) August 21, 2018
28.
Nothing says, "This 11 hour flight to Denmark with 3 kids is going to be FUN" like spending 2 hours with the same 3 kids at the passport office.
— The Salty Mamas (@saltymamas) September 24, 2019
29.
Fight attendant: you signalled for assitance?
— Kalvin (@KalvinMacleod) September 18, 2019
Me: yes the passengers beside me are being disruptive
Flight attendant: sir those are your kids
Me: do these seats have an eject button yes or no?
30.
This plane is nowhere near ready to land, but I'm traveling with a toddler, so we began our descent a long time ago.
— MyMomologue (@MyMomologue) January 24, 2017
31.
as hard as it may be, you have to accept your children just as they are, even if you catch them clapping their hands when the plane lands
— The Dad (@thedad) November 7, 2021
32.
Don't let your kids play video games for 2 days before a flight. Then give them fully-charged tablets and enjoy a 5-hour nap while they play
— Robert Knop (@FatherWithTwins) July 3, 2015
33.
My 4 yo's 'carry on' for the plane. Apparently all these Barbie brushes and lip glosses are a necessity. pic.twitter.com/mU34IJXp
— According To Mags (@AccordingToMags) April 8, 2012
34.
You sat beside my kids on a plane. They're your kids now.
— Laura Marie (@lmegordon) March 18, 2022
35.
Flight attendant: Sir, you cannot put your child in the overhead bin.
— Dude-Bro Dad (@thedadvocate01) February 9, 2020