Quick answer
Use the family security lanes (follow the assistance & family signs after check-in) for more time and help. Take your pushchair right to the gate — it's X-rayed, goes in the hold, and comes back at baggage reclaim. Baby milk, food and breast milk are allowed through security in the quantity you need (exempt from the 100ml rule) but get screened separately. Baby-care rooms for changing and feeding are in both terminals, and there's a free play area in the North Terminal. Arrive early and you'll be fine.
Airports with small children are all about removing friction before it starts. Gatwick is reasonably well set up for families — the trick is knowing where the helpful bits are and what the security rules actually allow, so you're not improvising with a tired toddler in a queue.
Family lanes & security
Gatwick runs dedicated Assisted Travel and family lanes at security for departing families. They give you a bit more space, time and staff help — including a hand folding the pushchair, which alone is worth using them. After you've checked in, just follow the signs for the assistance and family lanes.
Everything still goes through the scanner, including children's toys, so it helps to warn little ones in advance that teddy has to go through the machine for a moment — framing it as teddy's own little adventure tends to land better than a surprise separation at the belt. Car seats and booster seats can go through too; your child is just lifted out while the equipment is X-rayed.
Pushchairs & buggies
You can take your pushchair all the way to the departure gate. At security your child is lifted out so the buggy can be X-rayed; at the gate it's placed in the hold just before boarding, and after the flight it's returned to you in the baggage reclaim area with the rest of your luggage. Whether a folded buggy can come onto the aircraft (to the cabin door) depends entirely on your airline, so check their policy before you fly.
Baby milk & food through security
This is the rule most worth knowing: you're allowed to carry enough baby milk, baby food and breast milk for your journey in hand luggage, and it's exempt from the usual 100ml liquid limit (UK rules allow up to roughly 2 litres of breast milk). A few practical points:
- Take it out separately at security to be screened on its own — a clear zip-lock bag keeps it tidy.
- Staff may ask to open or test containers; that's normal.
- Pack anything beyond the journey's needs in your hold luggage.
- Boots Click & Collect: you can pre-order baby milk on the Boots website and collect it from Boots after security in both terminals — handy for avoiding the liquid faff entirely.
- Bottle warming: restaurants in both terminals will warm a bottle for you.
Changing & feeding rooms
Both terminals have dedicated baby-care rooms for changing and feeding, signed with a baby-bottle symbol. You'll find them around check-in, on the routes to the gates, in transfer areas, and after passport control in arrivals. They have changing tables and feeding chairs, and some include small playpens — useful for parking a toddler safely while you change a younger sibling. Some standard male and female toilets also have fold-down changing tables. You're welcome to breastfeed anywhere in the terminal, or use the quieter baby-care rooms if you'd prefer the privacy.
Play areas & family eating
There's a free children's play area (Kids Zone) after security in the North Terminal — on the lower level towards the far end of the departure lounge, near WHSmith, and easy to miss if you don't know it's there. Provision in the South Terminal has changed over time, so check current facilities for your terminal. For food, both terminals have family-friendly restaurants with kids' menus and highchairs, plus charging points by the seating to keep tablets alive. A child-friendly lounge can also be a good shout — a calmer space with food and drinks included — see our Gatwick lounges guide.
Infants on the flight (the basics)
These are airline and aviation rules rather than airport ones, so always confirm with your carrier — but broadly, very young babies travel on an adult's lap with a cabin-crew lap-strap for take-off and landing, and you can usually book a separate seat for an infant if you bring an approved child car seat that meets safety standards and fits the aircraft seat. Airlines don't provide these car seats, and size limits apply, so check your airline's policy and seat dimensions well before you travel.
Skip the kids-plus-luggage-on-a-train juggle
The hardest part of a family trip is often just getting to the airport with children, car seats and a fortnight of bags. A fixed-fare transfer takes that off the table: collected from your door, everything loaded for you, met in arrivals on the way back, and one fixed price for the whole vehicle — frequently less than several train tickets for a family. Ask about child seats when you book and we'll arrange what you need. Both terminals, no surge.
See Gatwick family transfers →Tips for a calmer day
- Arrive with extra time. Rushing with children is where airport days unravel — a buffer covers nappy changes, snack stops and meltdowns.
- Fly off-peak if you can. Midweek and early-morning terminals are quieter and the play areas less crowded.
- Pack a security zip-lock with milk, food and a couple of small toys you can grab fast at the scanner.
- Bring the boring essentials: Calpol sachets, nappy bags, wipes, a muslin, a spare outfit for the baby and a spare top for you.
- Keep one surprise toy back for the moment energy dips at the gate.
- Free inter-terminal shuttle runs every couple of minutes if you need to switch terminals — easy even with a buggy.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take a pushchair through security?
Does Gatwick have family security lanes?
Can I take baby milk and food through security?
Where can I change and feed a baby?
Is there a play area?
This is general guidance, current at the time of writing (2026); Gatwick's facilities and security and airline rules can change. Always confirm the latest security rules with Gatwick and the specific baggage, buggy and infant-seat policies with your airline before you travel. RushXO is a licensed private-hire transfer operator and is not affiliated with London Gatwick Airport.