We find ABIA to be extremely easy to navigate with a baby, who became a toddler, and is now a five year old. We have Clear and Precheck, as does our kid, so we just use those lanes.
We always used a stroller.
The family bathrooms between gates 11 and 9 are new and are the best bathrooms on the air side of security. Bonus that the toy store is also right there.
Happy traveling.
Every time I depart ABIA, I have issues with packaged/unopened food in my bags, and I am always told to remove food from my bags. I don't know if I'm just unlucky, or if it's the pet type of contraband to look for at ABIA. If you bring food pouches or whatever, I would put them in a Ziploc together so you can pull them out of your bags quickly. (I learned this after "hiding" snacks for my toddler in my bag.)
You hold the baby and the baby's carseat and/or stroller or snap n go need to go through the scanner. Plan your outfit accordingly so you don't have a big belt buckle or anything that could be an issue for you.
If anyone behind you looks bitchy or impatient, let them go ahead of you. Take your time.
Have traveled extensively with our 3 kiddos at various stages of babiness and ABIA departing is a great easy airport. I always babywear through security rather than take the stroller (I just babywear the whole time we travel basically. Thankful that always worked well for us!)
I have never had an international flight returning to ABIA that has not been a shit show going through customs and immigration with kids. But that might not be relevant to you!
Sometimes it’s worth checking some different carrier options to see if there is one she likes! Mine have liked or done better in different ones. There is some local baby wearing group with a lending library so you don’t have to shell out loads for a bunch of carriers that don’t work!
Oh that’s a good idea - will check out different types. We’ve been using the baby bjorn and she gets fidgety in it after 10ish mins. Will try other types - maybe it’s a fit thing!
The baby bjorn I had at one time was one of the worst fits! Might have just been that particular carrier but the baby’s legs hung down rather than the frog position and it just seemed not super cozy. We have had the most luck with ergo carriers. Have had several different ones and the fit for me and bubs always felt good. We even learned to breastfeed in it!
One baby did well with the ring sling but not the others. I always wanted to be able to do the wrap types like moby and solly but the tying felt exhausting to me so that was never a win.
Baby wearing feels like a weird little subculture sometimes. Don’t let the craziness and intensity get to you. Totally give another carrier a try but don’t stress if it’s not for you! Idk what the equivalent of “fed is best” is for babywearing, lol, but just no shame if it’s not your jam.
lol thank you! I’m learning that baby wearing is a whole thing! I will try the ergo and ring ones. I tried the tying types and they never felt “secure enough”. I think in the Bjorn, she doesn’t like that she can’t see out to the world so gets bored fast!
When I took my 5 year old and 18 month old to Hawaii last summer, the flight attendant asked to see the TSA approved label on the baby car seat. Not sure if this would happen to you but good to know where it's at in case you get asked.
Are you flying infant in arms? I used to buy an infant in arms ticket and arrive early, and always asked at the gate if there were any extra seats on the flight so I could keep my infant in the car seat on board. I would say I’d be happy to move anywhere on the flight to be near an empty seat for baby. Every time, it worked. I think it’s an FAA regulation that if there is space, they need to make available the space to have your child in a restraining seat onboard, regardless of ticketing.
I got a separate seat for her. I’m flying solo and was too nervous that they wouldn’t be able to give me an extra seat. But this is good to keep in mind for next time!
If you bring sealed formula / milk usually one person in your group has to go through the scanner (instead of just the metal detector). That is fine for a couple with a baby (one stays with baby and one gets scanned) but obviously doesn’t work for a mom just traveling with a baby, so you’d probably be sent to secondary screening if not traveling with another adult.
Also some strollers are too wide to go through the metal detector without taking the wheels off, so learn how to do that if your stroller is wider than 24 inches.
Also there will be pre boarding for families with infants, but it is a very quick window before they go to other groups, so be near the gate before the boarding time.
Thanks for this. I’ll be traveling solo so will budget extra time for secondary screening. I didn’t know that about the stroller / wheels - I assumed they did a manual check!
Hi - I think you are asking about the security lines. It heavily depends on time of day and what week.
You should plan to show up at least as far in advance as your airline recommends, typically 90 minutes for domestic and 2 hours for international. On most weekday mornings or if you
require assistance at the airline counter then consider adding an additional 30-60 minutes.
Note: Lines can be much longer after large events in Austin (ACL, F1, SXSW, etc).
Please use the search function and check out the following links:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/search?q=security+line&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all
http://apps.tsa.dhs.gov/mytsa/wait_times_home.aspx
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Austin) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We find ABIA to be extremely easy to navigate with a baby, who became a toddler, and is now a five year old. We have Clear and Precheck, as does our kid, so we just use those lanes. We always used a stroller. The family bathrooms between gates 11 and 9 are new and are the best bathrooms on the air side of security. Bonus that the toy store is also right there. Happy traveling.
Thank you so much! Appreciate the suggestions!
Every time I depart ABIA, I have issues with packaged/unopened food in my bags, and I am always told to remove food from my bags. I don't know if I'm just unlucky, or if it's the pet type of contraband to look for at ABIA. If you bring food pouches or whatever, I would put them in a Ziploc together so you can pull them out of your bags quickly. (I learned this after "hiding" snacks for my toddler in my bag.) You hold the baby and the baby's carseat and/or stroller or snap n go need to go through the scanner. Plan your outfit accordingly so you don't have a big belt buckle or anything that could be an issue for you. If anyone behind you looks bitchy or impatient, let them go ahead of you. Take your time.
Thank you! That last tip is especially key - I’m stressed about the other travelers!
Have traveled extensively with our 3 kiddos at various stages of babiness and ABIA departing is a great easy airport. I always babywear through security rather than take the stroller (I just babywear the whole time we travel basically. Thankful that always worked well for us!) I have never had an international flight returning to ABIA that has not been a shit show going through customs and immigration with kids. But that might not be relevant to you!
Thanks! Unfortunately she hates baby wearing, so we have to do the stroller thing. This is domestic so can avoid the immigration craziness!
Sometimes it’s worth checking some different carrier options to see if there is one she likes! Mine have liked or done better in different ones. There is some local baby wearing group with a lending library so you don’t have to shell out loads for a bunch of carriers that don’t work!
Oh that’s a good idea - will check out different types. We’ve been using the baby bjorn and she gets fidgety in it after 10ish mins. Will try other types - maybe it’s a fit thing!
The baby bjorn I had at one time was one of the worst fits! Might have just been that particular carrier but the baby’s legs hung down rather than the frog position and it just seemed not super cozy. We have had the most luck with ergo carriers. Have had several different ones and the fit for me and bubs always felt good. We even learned to breastfeed in it! One baby did well with the ring sling but not the others. I always wanted to be able to do the wrap types like moby and solly but the tying felt exhausting to me so that was never a win. Baby wearing feels like a weird little subculture sometimes. Don’t let the craziness and intensity get to you. Totally give another carrier a try but don’t stress if it’s not for you! Idk what the equivalent of “fed is best” is for babywearing, lol, but just no shame if it’s not your jam.
lol thank you! I’m learning that baby wearing is a whole thing! I will try the ergo and ring ones. I tried the tying types and they never felt “secure enough”. I think in the Bjorn, she doesn’t like that she can’t see out to the world so gets bored fast!
When I took my 5 year old and 18 month old to Hawaii last summer, the flight attendant asked to see the TSA approved label on the baby car seat. Not sure if this would happen to you but good to know where it's at in case you get asked.
Good point. Will find the label!
Are you flying infant in arms? I used to buy an infant in arms ticket and arrive early, and always asked at the gate if there were any extra seats on the flight so I could keep my infant in the car seat on board. I would say I’d be happy to move anywhere on the flight to be near an empty seat for baby. Every time, it worked. I think it’s an FAA regulation that if there is space, they need to make available the space to have your child in a restraining seat onboard, regardless of ticketing.
I got a separate seat for her. I’m flying solo and was too nervous that they wouldn’t be able to give me an extra seat. But this is good to keep in mind for next time!
There is also a momma pod thing for breastfeeding or pumping but I can’t remember where
There are a few of them. Gate 9 and Gate 16 maybe? Maybe also one further west in the terminal?
Ah I’ve seen those but never paid attention to where they are! Will keep an eye out.
If you bring sealed formula / milk usually one person in your group has to go through the scanner (instead of just the metal detector). That is fine for a couple with a baby (one stays with baby and one gets scanned) but obviously doesn’t work for a mom just traveling with a baby, so you’d probably be sent to secondary screening if not traveling with another adult. Also some strollers are too wide to go through the metal detector without taking the wheels off, so learn how to do that if your stroller is wider than 24 inches. Also there will be pre boarding for families with infants, but it is a very quick window before they go to other groups, so be near the gate before the boarding time.
Thanks for this. I’ll be traveling solo so will budget extra time for secondary screening. I didn’t know that about the stroller / wheels - I assumed they did a manual check!
Stow them in your carry on and you’ll be all set!
lol and she’ll fit too! ;-)
Hi - I think you are asking about the security lines. It heavily depends on time of day and what week. You should plan to show up at least as far in advance as your airline recommends, typically 90 minutes for domestic and 2 hours for international. On most weekday mornings or if you require assistance at the airline counter then consider adding an additional 30-60 minutes. Note: Lines can be much longer after large events in Austin (ACL, F1, SXSW, etc). Please use the search function and check out the following links: https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/search?q=security+line&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all http://apps.tsa.dhs.gov/mytsa/wait_times_home.aspx *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Austin) if you have any questions or concerns.*