Joy Hunt packs a survival kit to get her children through flights with minimal drama.

Shannan Swan will not get on a plane with her three-year-old without disinfectant.

Travelling with very young children is not for the faint of heart. Read what the women below advise and you are likely to be well-prepared.

Nicole Correia sailed through the three flights she took with her children last year. It helped that they skipped their usual naps on the day of the journey, the 29-year-old said.

As a result, her three-year-old daughter and infant son were drowsy on the plane and the long car rides that followed.

“Try to prevent them from sleeping before security because you will have to take them out of the carrier or stroller to walk through,” she warned. “A crying, upset baby just adds to the stress while trying to redress yourself and gather the hundreds of baby bags and items.”

It also helps if parents get to the airport with plenty of time to spare, she said.

“Definitely arrive at least an extra hour earlier [than you normally would] if you’re checking in through a kiosk system because it will not check you in if you have what they call an infant in arms — a child under 2 sitting in a lap.

“You have to wait in another line [with] people trying to rebook flights and/or those who have issues with the kiosk check-in.”

She warned first-time travellers that bottles and formula were sometimes a problem at the security gate.

“If you pre-pour water into bottles so that they are ready-made to add powdered formula, they are fine with it,” Mrs Correia said. “If you pack regular water bottles and say it’s for an infant, they take it away. Then you have to purchase chilled water and ice-cold [formula] is definitely not what they are used to.”

It also helped if essentials were kept within easy reach.

“You don’t want to have to pull out every possible item to avoid an embarrassing outburst,” she said. “Know exactly where the toys, snacks, blanket and pacifier are at any point in time.

“The good news is, by trip three we had it all under control.”

Joy Hunt packs an aircraft survival kit to keep her children entertained.

“My children are 5 and 3 and we fly every year to New York for Christmas to visit my father,” the 34-year-old said.

“They both take a backpack with their plane toys to keep them occupied. It has crayons, snacks and gum in case their ears can’t take the pressure.

“We also carry an iPad or something similar. They have Nabi Jrs [a learning tablet for children] which have games and children’s books they can download. I encourage that, with earphones for the cabin pressure.”

Chrisanthi Bartley has been travelling with her five-year-old son, Cayden, since he was an infant.

In the early days she tried to pack for any and every eventuality and was weighed down with luggage: the stroller adaptor for the pumpkin seat, bottles, formula, Pampers, wipes, extra outfits, a breast pump, toys, etc.

These days she is a lot calmer. Her advice to parents is that they should also keep relaxed.

“Travelling is stressful in itself already,” she said. “Also, be open to break your routine just a little and, most of all, enjoy the time together.”

A pacifier helped Emily Flood to stay sane on her first flight with her three-month-old daughter. The sucking motion stopped Tinashe’s ears from getting blocked and kept her from crying.

“It seemed to work,” Mrs Flood said. “Before the flight I was really worried about the pressure affecting her ears, but everything went surprisingly smoothly.”

She initially felt awkward, certain that she was in that group of “people that no one wants to sit by”.

Tinashe was quiet throughout the flight and slept through take-off and landing. The challenge came after they got off the plane.

“In the past we would have each day mapped out in terms of where we wanted to go and the places we wanted to eat,” Mrs Flood said.

“On this trip we had our plans but soon learnt it didn’t really work like that with a little one. We had to revise them anytime our daughter was hungry, tired, needed changing or was hot or cold.

“My advice to any new parents would be to stay flexible and be prepared to change your plans for the day at any point.

“The other thing I learnt, and would advise, is not to rely on hotels having certain amenities or finding supplies locally; pack everything you could possibly need.”

Their hotel room in New York did not have a fridge or a kettle, Mrs Flood said. Finding formula proved more difficult than expected.

Shannan Swan finds it a lot easier to travel with her daughter, Nylah, these days.

The 29-year-old said it helped to have a carry-on bag packed with essentials for the three-year-old.

Tania Kowalski agrees. Healthy snacks, an iPad, and activity and sticker books are all must-haves for her two daughters. She also packs a change of clothes in case of spills.

“To make the process easy, I try to pack a carry-on that is light and easy to get around with, and fill it with the essentials,” said Ms Swan, who has been travelling with her daughter since she was two months old.

“I always be sure to have snacks, games, her iPad, a portable potty and, most importantly, Lysol wipes. I disinfect everything I think she will touch.”