Travelling with young children can be a daunting task. But rest assured, we’re on hand to help your trip fly by as smoothly as possible with a few handy tips.
From what to pack onboard, to inflight family entertainment, we’re known for our family ethos for a reason. Let’s get your trip off to a flying start.
Firstly, what type of ticket do you need that best suits your needs?
Check out the basics before we delve into the good stuff.
Babies up to the age of two are classed as infants. They'll usually fly in the comfort of your lap, so we only charge 10% of the adult fare (plus any taxes, fees or charges).
If you do require a seat for your infant, you’ll need to book that with us directly.
Contact us (click ‘Booking a flight’ and then ‘I want to book a flight’).
While you are there you can also request a bassinet or cot, subject to availability.
You must be 12 or over to look after a lap infant onboard, and it's only one baby per lap please, or things get a bit too wriggly.
Young person fares apply for children aged between twelve and sixteen years old at time of travelling.
Please refer to our page on Young Persons Travelling Alone for more information about our policies on young people travelling without a parent or guardian.
If you already have a booking, please log in to My Booking where you can speak to an advisor via web messaging.
If you've not yet made your booking and wish to check the cot/bassinet availability before you book, please Contact us (click ‘Booking a flight’ and then ‘I want to book a flight’). When a sky cot/bassinet has been pre-booked, seat numbers will be assigned by the airport on the day of departure.
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Babies and toddlers aged 0-23 months are entitled to one bag each weighing up to 6kg (or 13lb). Any children aged 2+ years are entitled to the same amount of hand baggage as an adult.
When travelling with infants or children you can bring a fully collapsible pushchair (which we can take from you at the gate and pop in the hold) and car seat, in addition to the free check in allowance. If you are travelling to London Heathrow, please be advised that pushchairs (with the exception of special assistance pushchairs) won’t be delivered to the aircraft door when you arrive and will be available to collect from baggage reclaim.
Alternatively, the following foldable buggies are permitted in the cabin with you as your hand baggage if you prefer:
GB Pocket
Britax Holiday
SIlver CrossJet
BabyZen YoYo
The following liquids are allowed in amounts greater than 100ml. Please bear in mind that you still shouldn’t bring excessive amounts:
Vera is the name of our inflight entertainment system onboard your flight. Here you'll find a designated Kids section to keep your kids entertained with movies, TV, audio and games suitable for small eyes and ears.
If there is content isn't suitable for your little travellers, we've included a parental block as part of our inflight entertainment system. For help with setting this up, just speak to a member of the cabin crew on board.
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If you'd like to order any children's meals you need to do so separately which can be done easily online in My Booking. You can do this any time from booking up to 24 hours before your flight.
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We’ve created our kids’ menu with the fussiest child in mind, so it includes a variety of familiar dishes that are sure to tickle their tastebuds. It's designed for children who are aged from 2 to 12 years old and have their own seat.
Kids meals aren't always vegetarian, so if they're veggie they should go for the adult vegetarian option rather than a kids meal.
If you don't order one before you fly it's ok, they'll be able to choose from the delicious options available onboard.
We adhere to allergen guidance under European and UK food legislation, which may be different in other jurisdictions. The allergens declared refer to the ingredients only, the food items may contain traces of allergens since they are processed on or with equipment that processes products that may contain allergens.
We cannot guarantee the absence of food allergen or peanut traces in our meals, both on board and at the airport. A list of food allergens contained in meals served on flights departing from the UK and USA is available on board from your Cabin Crew.
Our suppliers are based all around the world and not every country has the same legal requirements for providing allergen information. On flights to the UK, allergen labelling on pre-packaged items may not reflect all of the allergens required to be declared in the UK. For passengers flying from the USA, we also adhere to the three additional Nuts listed under US Allergen advisory information.
Peanuts are never knowingly included in any of our meals on board. However, our meals are not produced in a nut-free environment so may contain traces.
All other nuts may also be served on our flights to other passengers as part of the menu ingredients and/or the snack service, in any cabin. We also can’t stop other passengers from bringing (or eating) their own food onboard, which may include nuts.
In view of the above, we strongly encourage passengers to take all necessary precautions to prepare for the possibility of inadvertent exposure.
If you have a severe allergy, please see our Special Assistance pages.
Mothers are welcome to breastfeed onboard. Our crew will make you as comfortable as possible, and can provide an extra blanket or a seat in the galley if you'd like some more privacy. We can’t store expressed milk, but we have ice and ice buckets if you need to keep it cool for later use.
If you're bringing baby food, milk or formula in your hand baggage, make sure you read about the airport security guidance on how much and what you can bring. Here's the guidance for the UK.
If you're flying from London Heathrow you can reserve your baby milk or formula and collect it at the airport
If you need milk warming up, just let the cabin crew know and they’ll be happy to do it, by warming it in hot water then leaving it to cool.
Travelling with an infant on your lap – You can request a pureed baby meal (suitable up to 12 months old) via My Booking. We only offer a baby meal, so if your little one has moved on to solid food please bring something along with you for them to eat.
Travelling with an infant in their own seat – You can request a baby meal or a child meal.
Our ground staff in the baggage hall will assess the damage and, in some airports, try to settle your claim immediately by arranging a replacement bag (if your bag is no longer useable) or by referring you to our repair company.
If you wish to make a claim with us for damaged baggage and missing items, you must complete our Damaged Baggage form & attach PDF - Damaged baggage or missing contents within seven days of the baggage being placed at your disposal.
If you wish to make a claim with us for damaged baggage, you must complete this form to ensure payment can be claimed.
We do everything we can to take care of your baggage when it is in our care but unfortunately, cosmetic, or minor damage can occur. We are unable to accept claims for this kind of damage which includes scuffs or dents that do not affect the structure of the bag.
Please Complete our Baggage Claim Form for damaged bags and/or contents and send to the below address, ensuring a copy of any receipts are sent as we will not be able to send back original copies.
UK Postal address US Postal address
Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic
Customer Care Customer Care
The VHQ 5787 Vineland Road
Fleming Way Suite 204, Orlando
Crawley Florida, 32819
RH10 9DF
UK
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