With warnings of a strike by Spanish air traffic controllers this weekend and as the holiday season begins, Tots To Travel –experts in baby and toddler-friendly villa holidays– has released a series of hints and tips to help families handle potential airport disasters with ease.

Delays are not an uncommon nightmare for families travelling in peak season.  It's hard enough travelling with the mountains of paraphernalia needed once children are part of the travelling picture, without the additional pressure of the a few extra hours in the departure lounge.

The tips are based around the two types of delay: the kind that travellers may well know about before they head off for the airport (air traffic controller or baggage handler strikes), and those that happen completely out of the blue.  With known delays it's worth making an early call about whether it's even worth going to the airport.  The unexpected delays such as faults on the airplane, are less easy to plan for.

To help ease the pressure, Wendy Shand, founder of Tots To Travel, has unveiled some pearls of wisdom to help mitigate delays and ensure that families can handle them as smoothly as possible. Knowing that smart parents will have a few contingency measures up their sleeves, Wendy has nine top tips, tried and tested with her own family, to help keep dreaded delays under control:

On Booking – Do make sure that to give the airline relevant mobile numbers and upload the airline's app if they have one. That way, they can send push notifications about delays and cancellations.

Think Ahead – No one likes a delay, but it can be made fare less stressful with a bit of pre-planning.  Give some thought to food and drink, entertainment and uploading popular apps, and games and download favourite cartoons and videos before you leave home.

Keep in the know - Knowledge is power.  In the run up to your holiday it's worth being aware of what's going on in the news.  Also check the airline's website or app regularly for further updates.  This also enables parents to carefully manage their time.

Keep calm – Once a delay becomes apparent, it is really important to stay calm.  Children are sensitive to anxiety and may well begin to play up.  A delay is very much outside of passengers control so acknowledge that there is nothing to be done about it, and stay light hearted. The whole family will have an easier time.

What's around? – Do have a scout around the airport to find out what there is for children.  Look out play areas and good vantage points for watching the planes.

Food & Drink - Pack plenty of food, snacks and drink in the hand luggage and hold some back to cater for a last minute delay. Fluid is not allowed through security, so ensure that everyone is kept well hydrated with water from one of the shops in the departure lounge.  For babies and young children, think ahead to what meals will be needed if a short-ish delay happens.  If a longer delay happens you may need to be flexible about what you feed your baby.

Entertainment – Depending on the children's ages, have a host of activities prepared.  Books, kid's magazines, colours and colouring books are a good start whilst a pack of cards is great for pairs, snap and a myriad of other games. Make sure phones and tablets are fully charged (and that a charger is on hand as well) and consider uploading some news games and apps for the journey. It's also worth having a balloon or two and a small ball for really long delays. A small pool skimming ball works well for throwing, catching and rolling activities.

Sleep – Try and keep babies and toddlers in their routine, perhaps by taking them for a stroll in their buggy.  If possible, persuade toddlers to take their regular nap, and have a pashmina or scarf on hand to wrap them up if needed (even if you are travelling to a warm country, a jumper or scarf is useful for cold departure lounges).  

For very long delays or cancellations – Each airline has its own delay and cancellation policy, so do ask.  When it looks like long delay is likely then ensure that the ground crew know of any young children, and ask for an early decision of possible.  In the case of air traffic controller strikes, it well worth making alternative arrangements early on and cutting your losses. 

Tots To Travel has also created a free  'Holiday Planner Pack' filled with hints and tips for parents travelling with babies and toddlers, which can be ordered from www.totstotravel.co.uk

ENDS

Wendy Shand, founder and CEO of Tots To Travel is an expert on any questions you might have on travelling with babies, toddlers, how to ensure parents have the best holiday possible, hints and tips on destinations, sytle of villa, whether to be resort-based on in a remote location, what to pack, what not to pack and more. She is available for interviews, Q&As, quotes and responses to readers questions. 

For more information, or to view any of the properties, visit www.totstotravel.co.uk or call the team of family travel experts on 0800 014 2770.

Media contacts:
Press Office: Rachel Andrews-Ingram
E-mail: rachel@totstotravel.co.uk
Web: www.totstotravel.co.uk  @totstotravel

Notes to Editors:

Tots To Travel launched in 2006 and now features more than 400 safe, family friendly properties
• The company offers holiday homes in France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Canaries and Balearics and the UK all inspected by professionals trained by the Child Accident Prevention Trust
• Tots To Travel have sent 1000s of families away on their holidays
• The company has been recognised with a range of prestigious awards including the Cisco Customer Kings Award for outstanding customer service (2010)
• Award-Winning Customer Service: “Amazingly responsive and personal service - surpassed expectations” is just one of the many comments on Feefo, (an independent review site) What's more 97% of our families recommend us to their friends and of those, 90% said absolutely or already had.