After asking 1000 travelers, presumably those with children, about the way airports cater for parents with children, the Skyscanner survey results came out generally negative for the airports, with two thirds claiming that airports do not do enough for their youngest visitors.
Schiphol airport in Amsterdam and Changi airport of Singapore are beginning to set an example: they are massive international airports, which have begun to understand the importance of keeping children, or more importantly their parents, happy. They have play areas and entertainment facilities to keep children occupied during waiting periods, overnight stays or delay periods. The vast majority of the world’s airports have a lot of catching up to do.
Skyscanner, a budget flight search engine, asked 1000 passengers about their wishes and experiences in terms of traveling with children. Most said that the current facilities are insufficient. Over half stated that long queues are reminiscent of nightmares when traveling with children, though most airports still suffer from them.
29% complained about a lack of entertainment facilities for children, with the wish for soft play areas being prominent in the thoughts of 60% of passengers. Long walks to departure gates were considered problematic for 10% of passenger parents and the lack of suitable food options for infants was cited as a problem for 6% of respondents.
Once all of these complaints are filed into one bigger complaint, then the picture becomes clearer: 73% of respondents claimed that the problems due to the lack of options and facilities at airports for children were to blame for their holiday being partially ruined.
It is true that traveling by air can be a stressful way of traveling anyway. With screaming bored and irritable children it can turn into an absolute nightmare – something, which the airports should realize.
