Ah, going away with the kids…The actual travel experience is probably the most stressful part of vacationing with the youngest members of the family.
Before the fun begins, parents have a few obstacles to tackle: hauling around extra luggage, keeping the children in line before the security check, not losing anyone while trying to stay organized, and staving off boredom — arguably the biggest evil of them all.
Entertaining the kids while the grown-ups deal with the logistics is sometimes the only way to stay sane. This is where electronic devices with previously downloaded shows, movies, and games come in handy — because all hell will break loose if the airport Wi-Fi is unreliable.
Some airports have recognized these modern travel challenges, which now often also include extra waiting time because of additional security, and have adapted. Indoor playgrounds, art exhibits, and even scavenger hunts are increasingly common at several major airports in the country. Some of them even have skeletons of dinosaurs, which kids often find fascinating. These options, in combination with family lounges, relieve a significant amount of stress when flying with children.
To identify the most kid-friendly airports in the United States, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a study by UpgradedPoints, an online platform that offers travelers strategies to maximize rewards. The ranking is based on how many children-oriented activities are offered at each of the 50 busiest airports in the country. More weight was given to airports with multiple play areas.
10. Nashville International Airport (8.61/10)
> Location: Nashville, Tennessee
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 7,667,124
> Opened: 1937
To help keep children occupied at Nashville International Airport, the facility features four stages where performers play music from various genres (which makes sense since Nasheville is dubbed as America’s Music City). The airport keeps a daily schedule of acts. Kids can also avail themselves of play areas in each terminal. The airport provides a feature on its website titled Arts at the Airport, which receives funding from the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, to schedule talent to showcase Nashville’s visual and performing arts communities.
9. Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport (8.67/10)
> Location: San Jose, California
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 6,547,992
> Opened: 1949
Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport is located in Silicon Valley. The airport recently completed an overhaul of its international arrivals terminal that made the waiting area more comfortable and provided more power outlets and USB ports in armrests, and free high-speed Internet. The airport boasts an airport play area designed for children that teaches them about aviation. And kids can listen to live communications between the control tower and pilots on a phone. The airport is also known for its Art + Technology Program offers an audio tour in which the artists discuss their art on display at the airport’s public art program.
8. Philadelphia Airport (8.72/10)
> Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 13,345,341
> Opened: 1940
Philadelphia International Airport keep kids engaged while they await to travel with an educational play area, Ready For Takeoff, in Terminal A-East. It features a replica of a jumbo jet, along with a control tower where children can pretend to be pilots, passengers, drivers or air traffic controllers. Just Plane Fun is the airport’s entertainment program that runs through the summer where travelers can see live performances of acts such as Philadelphia’s iconic Mummers string band; beauty care and artist demonstrations; and caricaturists.
7. Dulles International Airport (8.78/10)
> Location: Washington, D.C.
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 7,727,286
> Opened: 1962
A kids area with a space theme was developed by NASA for Dulles International Airport. It features interactive games, slides and other aviation-themed activities. Dulles also has a program titled “Wings for All” intended for those with special needs and their families to inform them about air travel and relieve the stress of flying. Also, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority brings in musicians, singers, dancers and other artists to the airport to provide entertainment for passengers.
6. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (9.39.10)
> Location: Detroit, Michigan
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 15,550,999
> Opened: 1930
At Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, parents can find children’s play areas at the McNamara and North terminals. The airport also has complimentary Wi-Fi, and the middle of the concourses is a 700-foot tunnel illuminated by 9,000 feet of LED lighting that children will find spellbinding. Also at Concourse A there is circular water feature with sprays of water that gambol across a fountain
5. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (9.5/10)
> Location: Atlanta, Georgia
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 45,710,591
> Opened: 1926
The nation’s busiest airport is also one of the most kid-friendly in the country. Children can use two play areas that have slides. There is also an art program that features a Zimbabwean stone sculpture. Not to be missed is a fully assembled 33-foot skeleton of Yangchuanosaurus, a dinosaur that lived in China during the Jurassic period. The skeleton is on loan from the Fernbank Museum of Natural History and can be seen in the atrium in airport’s main terminal. The airport does not have a specific play area for children, but it plans on building one.
4. O’Hare International Airport (9.56/10)
> Location: Chicago, Illinois
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 33,143,611
> Opened: 1949
A big attraction for kids at O’Hare International Airport is the 72-foot-long Brachiosaurus skeleton model on loan from Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. You can find him on the upper level of Terminal 1 in Concourse B. There is also an aeroponic garden (growing plants without soil and sustained by mist) between Terminals 2 and 3 that contains about 1,000 plants. Kids will be enthralled by a 744-foot-long kinetic neon sculpture of light and sound created by Michael Hayden, located in the underground walkway between Concourses B and C in Terminal 1. Another cool diversion is a replica of the World War II fighter plane flown by airport namesake and U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Comdr. Edward O’Hare.
3. San Francisco International Airport (9.78/10)
> Location: San Francisco, California
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 20,995,071
> Opened: 1927
San Francisco International Airport has created so-called Kids’ Spots exploration areas throughout the airport to help make waiting time more tolerable. An area at Terminal 3 Boarding Area F provides interactive displays of weather patterns. Another Kids’ Spot at Terminal 3 Boarding Area E features a series of six-foot diameter spirals that are activated by motion sensors. Kids’ Spots at Terminal 2 focus on artwork that functions as interactive learning and play stations. And The Kids’ Spot in Terminal 1 depicts a forest with carpeting for the woodland floor.
2. Portland International Airport (9.89/10)
> Location: Portland, Oregon
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 9,361,433
> Opened: 1927
Portland International Airport, one of the older airports on the kid-friendly list, grades out well for entertainment, food choices, and accessibility. A key kid-friendly feature is the Hollywood Theatre, a movie theater located in Concourse C, that shows family-oriented fare by local film makers. There are play areas in Concourses D and E where kids can watch planes take off or taxi down the tarmac, and in Terminals C and D there are Lego tables and a wooden activity set for the little ones.
1. Boston Logan International Airport (10/10)
> Location: Boston, Massachusetts
> Domestic Passenger Traffic (2018): 16,406,503
> Opened: 1923
Boston Logan International Airport is the oldest airport on the list and considered the most kid-friendly. The airport provides “Kidsport” play areas in three terminals that were designed by the Children’s Museum of Boston. The areas are aviation-themed with a facsimile of the airport’s control tower at Terminal A and climbing structures made to look like vintage airplanes and a carpet designed to look like an airfield, at Terminal C. The airport’s “Wings for Autism” program helps families with autistic children manage the stress of flying.