When you’re traveling with kids, it’s not easy to decide whether to check your stroller or car seat. If you have an infant, you may want to keep that massive double stroller with you until you get to the gate. Or, you may feel comfortable carrying the baby in your ErgoBaby carrier and leaving your hands free to deal with other things at the airport.
Whichever option you pick, you still need to know how to gate check your car seat or stroller. It’s up to you to decide which is best for your needs when traveling with kids.
Check on the plane
The beauty of checking your gear at the same time as your bags is that these items are no longer in your hands. You don’t have to keep track of your stroller or car seat. You can just trust that they will arrive.
The downside is, if they get lost, you are out of luck. However, many airlines have car seats you can grab if you lose yours in transit.
IT’S FREE TO CHECK Strollers and car seats at the airport with your bags!
If you want to check your car seat, I recommend placing it in a car seat bag. This protects your car seat on a plane and also gives you a little extra space. You can stash diapers, maybe a travel crib, and other odds and ends that didn’t fit in your suitcase.
Stick to light, non-bulky items whenever possible so you aren’t flagged by the ticketing agent.
If you want to check your stroller on a plane, you can put it in a large stroller storage bag. We have even used large garbage bags in the past. This is mostly just to keep the stroller clean. It will not protect it from damage.
Check at the gate
I have always preferred to gate check my stroller when it travels with us. It pulls triple duty as my pack mule, kid carrier and nap station. I know that when I leave my stroller at the gate it is getting on my plane, not someone else’s.
The same goes when you gate check a car seat on an airplane. If you want to make sure it gets to your final destination, it’s better to bring it through the airport and check it at the gate.
However, dragging a heavy car seat across an airport isn’t fun. After our kids were no longer in the infant stage, we started checking our larger car seat with our luggage. We simply grab it from baggage claim when we land at our final destination. We haven’t had a problem yet.
Get a Gate Tag
Just as you have to check your roller bag on a plane if the overhead is full, you’ll have to ask the gate agent for tags to take your stroller and car seat on a plane. Simply bring your tickets up to the gate agent to request your tags. He or she will know what to do.
Once your items are tagged, drop them at the bottom of the jetway before you board the plane. An airport worker will grab your gear and bring it directly to the cargo hold.
Pick your stroller and car seat up at the same place when you arrive at your destination.
Carry it on
Depending on the type of car seat you have, you may be able to carry your car seat on your plane. Please check with the gate agent first and make sure your car seat documentation is FAA compliant.
Explore FAA compliant Car Seats HERE
Keep in mind that carrying your car seat on a plane is only possible if you bought a seat for your child. If your child is a lap infant, you’ll have to gate check your car seat no matter how many empty seats you think are on the flight. You’ll be asked to put your car seat in the window seat, so prepare any older children ahead of time.
In general flight attendants will not let you carry a stroller onto your flight. In theory, a tiny umbrella stroller fits in the overhead compartment, but more often than not you’ll have to check your stroller at the gate.
Airport crowd image via ShutterStock.com
Re: Gate checking your stroller. We always gate check so we can use the stroller throughout the airport, and then don’t have to wait for it at security. However, the flight crew is far from gentle with the strollers: 2 out of my last 4 flights have resulted in some sort of stroller damage. Most airlines give you 4 hours from the end of the flight to report property damage. So either make sure you have good trip insurance or immediately report the stroller damage once it happens!
I hear you. We once checked out stroller at the gate in Paris and when we got home the handle bars were bent at a 90 degree angle. The customer service people looked at us like “isn’t it supposed to look like that.” We filed a claim with Delta, but did we ever see our $30 for the stroller? Nope! That’s by I only travel with cheap strollers.
Strollers – a necessary evil at an airport! I always gate checked mine and we never, ever flew without a car seat. I was so thankful when the kids got big enough to use the kids fly safe CAREs harnesses – talk about easy! They are a God send!! Keeping kiddos strapped in safely makes me feel so much better. 🙂
I remember the first time I didn’t fly with my kids. I was like “wait, what is going to carry my bag now?” I normally threw everything on the stroller. Sure changed the way I packed when I flew solo after that!
If you get a gate tag and check at the gate, does your flight have to be non-stop? We will have to change planes during our trip, and I want the stroller and car seat to also change planes. How does that work?
You will simply pick up your car seat and stroller on the jet way after each flight. You will also have to gate check your car seat and stroller before every flight, whether it is a connecting flight or not. The only time this might not be able to happen is when you fly international. Sometimes they make you gate check your items all the way through. Check with the airline ahead of time so you are prepared.
Hi there, I will be travelling with my 9 month. Can I hate check both my stroller and car seat? Someone told me that I can either carry car seat or stroller not both. Is that true? We r flying emirates
I wished if you answered this one too, i had similar question, and I’m traveling tomorrow 🙁
It does depend on the airline, but I’ve checked both at the gate without trouble. The best thing you can do is call the airline to make sure though. You don’t want to be surprised when you show up at the airport!
Hi, Ill be traveling in a few months to Guatemala from Cali with my 1 yr old & my 2 yr old by myself. I need to take both car seats with me & my huge double stroller but my 1 year old would be on my lap & my 2 year old in her seperate seat. Im wondering what can I do so I dont have to carry the car seats with me? & can any type of stroller make it through security?
You can easily check your carseats with your checked bags. You don’t have to bring them on the plane. And most strollers, except maybe massive ones, can be checked onto the plane. Personally, for travel, especially to Guatemala, I’d say the slimmer the better. CityMini or something with decent tires will serve you well. We always just brought cheap umbrella strollers with us everywhere though.
I’m having all these anxieties about traveling with my 3 y/o so this article definitely helped me decide that we are going to bring a small stroller to gate check. Thank you!
I’m so glad it helped!!! Sometimes having that stroller, even to just hold all your carry-on bags, is helpful so you have hands free to run after the toddler. I know I cried last year when we finally gave up the umbrella stroller. It was our trusted sherpa throughout the world!
Hi. I am also a mom first time to travel with a kid and i stumble on this site to gather some tips. But i an confused, I wonder if you meant “valet check” by the term you are using gate check? Gate check is when you drop all your luggage in the check-in counter.
In the U.S., we gate check things at the check-in counter at the gate right before we go on a plane. We get a tag and then walk it down the jetway to drop it off. We can also check our baby gear when we do our big bag check at ticket check-in, but many parents opt to bring their stroller to the airplane gate instead. Depending on where you live, gate check and valet check are probably the same thing.
Thank you for the tips you’ve shared when traveling on the airplane and carrying a stroller at the same time.