What to Pack in a Diaper Bag for a Flight: My Packing List After 20+ Flights With Kids
Flying with a baby or toddler can make it tempting to stuff your diaper bag with everything you could possibly need. After more than 20 flights with my kids, I’ve learned that I’d much rather have a diaper bag that’s organized and easy to access than one packed with every baby item we own.
My system is pretty simple: I keep anything I’m likely to need during the flight in the diaper bag under the seat in front of me. Extra supplies and things I’m bringing “just in case” can go in my carry-on roller bag.
After more than 20 flights with kids, I’ve also completely changed how much I pack for family trips. Here’s what I bring now and what I’ve stopped packing.
I’ve flown with babies, toddlers, both kids together, and by myself with a baby, and this is the airplane diaper bag packing list that works for me.
What Should You Pack in a Diaper Bag for a Flight?
For most flights, my diaper bag includes:
• Diapers
• Wipes
• Changing pad
• At least one change of clothes for each child
• A change of clothes for me
• Burp cloths when traveling with a baby
• Bottles and formula
• Snacks and pouches for my toddler
• Bentgo lunchbox when I want to bring a meal
• One or two small baby toys
• Amazon Fire tablet and headphones for my toddler
• Sometimes a book
• Medicine and basic health essentials
• My water bottle
I adjust the exact contents depending on which child I’m traveling with, how long the flight is, and whether I’m flying alone or with my husband.
Use a Backpack Diaper Bag for Flying
My diaper bag is a backpack, and I find that especially helpful when I’m flying alone with my kids. I want both hands available for pushing a stroller, holding my toddler’s hand, handling luggage, or getting everyone through security.
Sometimes I’ll bring an additional personal tote, particularly if my husband is traveling with us. Other times, I’ll wear a small crossbody for my personal essentials and put everything for the kids in the backpack.
For me, the goal at the airport is to have as few separate things to keep track of as possible.
How Many Diapers Should You Pack for a Flight?
I always pack enough diapers for the expected travel time plus extras in case we’re delayed.
I don’t base the number only on the length of the actual flight. Your travel day also includes getting to the airport, going through security, waiting at the gate, boarding, deplaning, and getting to your final destination. A flight delay can also unexpectedly add several hours to your day.
This is one category where I would rather have too many than too few.
I keep the diapers I expect to use during the flight in my diaper bag and can put additional backup diapers in my carry-on roller bag.
Don’t Forget Wipes and a Changing Pad
Wipes are obviously essential for diaper changes, but I use them for everything while traveling: sticky hands, spills, dirty faces, and the inevitable mess that appears out of nowhere.
I also always pack a changing pad. You may end up changing your baby in an airport bathroom or on the changing table in an airplane lavatory, so I like having my own surface to put underneath them. Luckily, the diaper bag I use comes with one.
Pack a Change of Clothes for Your Baby...and Yourself
I keep at least one complete backup outfit for each child accessible during the flight.
Babies can have blowouts or spit up, while toddlers somehow manage to spill things on themselves even when there appears to be nothing available to spill.
But one of my biggest tips is to pack a change of clothes for yourself too.
If your baby spits up all over you or you’re involved in a diaper blowout, having three adorable backup onesies for your baby isn’t going to help your own situation. I always want at least something clean that I can change into.
What I Pack for Formula Feeding on a Plane
When I’m flying with my daughter, feeding supplies take up much more diaper bag space than toys.
She drinks formula, so I pre-fill her bottles with the amount of water I need and bring powdered formula separately. I also bring more formula than I expect her to drink during the scheduled travel time.
Flights get delayed. You can sit on the tarmac. Connections can take longer than expected. Formula is another thing I never want to be trying to ration during a travel day.
I also bring my own water bottle so I have water easily accessible for myself. If you’re flying with formula, I also have a full guide to getting formula, bottles, and water through TSA as well as how I make bottles with formula on the plane.
What to Pack for a Baby’s Entertainment on a Flight
I only bring one or two small toys for a baby.
In my experience, babies are often entertained by everything happening around them anyway. There are people to watch, new sounds, windows, cups, and all sorts of things that are apparently much more exciting than the toy you carefully packed for them.
I’d rather save the diaper bag space for feeding supplies, diapers, and other things I know we’ll need.
What I Pack for a Toddler on a Plane
My toddler requires a few different things than my baby, and food and entertainment become much more important.
I bring plenty of snacks and pouches that I already know my son likes. Sometimes I pack his Bentgo lunchbox with familiar foods too.
Travel days are not when I want to discover that he has suddenly decided he hates the one snack I brought.
Now that he’s into screen time, I also pack his Amazon Fire tablet and headphones. Sometimes I’ll bring a book, but I don’t bring a huge assortment of toys and activities.
I’ve learned that familiar snacks and his tablet are much more valuable to us on a flight than filling the diaper bag with toys he may never touch.
What Medicine Should You Pack in a Diaper Bag?
I always travel with basic medicine and health essentials for my kids.
I have a complete kids’ travel medicine kit that comes with us on every trip, but for the diaper bag itself, I prioritize anything I might reasonably need while we’re in transit.
If you’re bringing medication, make sure you have any dosing syringes or other supplies you would need to actually give it. And always follow your pediatrician’s recommendations for which medications and doses are appropriate for your child.
What Goes in My Carry-On Instead of the Diaper Bag
One of the biggest changes I’ve made after flying with kids so many times is separating what I need during the flight from what I simply want to have with me.
If I’m bringing a roller board onboard, I use it for backup and emergency supplies. That might include:
• Additional diapers and wipes
• Extra formula
• Additional changes of clothes
• Extra snacks
• Other backup baby and toddler supplies
These things are still with me in the cabin if something goes wrong or we have a long delay. I just don’t need all of them taking up space underneath the seat in front of me.
What I Keep in My Crossbody at the Airport
If I’m wearing a crossbody, I use it for the things I personally reach for constantly, like my phone, wallet, and ID.
I find this especially helpful when I’m flying alone with my kids. I don’t want to take my backpack off and dig through the diaper bag every time I need my phone or identification.
It sounds like a tiny organizational detail, but anything that eliminates one step when you’re navigating an airport with kids helps.
My Rule for Packing a Diaper Bag for a Flight
When I’m deciding whether something belongs in my diaper bag or carry-on, I ask myself one question:
How likely am I to need this while we’re sitting on the airplane?
If there’s a good chance I’ll need it, it goes in the diaper bag under the seat in front of me. If it’s there primarily for an emergency, delay, or backup, it can go in my roller board.
That means bottles, snacks, diapers, wipes, a change of clothes, and entertainment are easy to grab. The extras are still nearby without making my diaper bag impossible to navigate.
After more than 20 flights with kids, that system has made flying with a baby and toddler much easier for me.
Airplane Diaper Bag FAQs
Can a diaper bag be a carry-on?
Airline baggage policies vary, so check your airline’s current rules before your trip to see how a diaper bag is treated and whether it counts toward your carry-on or personal-item allowance. Check out this article for more.
How many diapers should I bring on a flight?
Bring enough diapers for your entire travel day rather than just the scheduled flight time, plus extras for delays. I keep what I expect to use during the flight in my diaper bag and additional backups in my carry-on.
Should I pack toys for a baby on a plane?
I bring only one or two small toys for a baby. I’ve found that younger babies are often entertained by their surroundings, so I prefer to save diaper bag space for essentials like diapers and feeding supplies.
What should I pack in a diaper bag for a toddler on a plane?
For my toddler, I prioritize familiar snacks, pouches, his Bentgo lunchbox when needed, a tablet with headphones, and sometimes a book, in addition to diapers or other toileting supplies, wipes, and backup clothing.
Should I bring a change of clothes for myself when flying with a baby?
Yes. I always pack a backup outfit for myself as well as my kids. Spit-up, spills, and diaper blowouts can end up on the parent too, and having something clean to change into can make a long travel day much more comfortable.
What should go in a diaper bag versus a carry-on?
I put anything I’m likely to need during the actual flight in my diaper bag. Additional diapers, formula, clothing, and emergency supplies can go in my carry-on roller bag so they’re still available without taking up valuable space under the seat.
Flying with a baby soon? I put everything I’ve learned from flying with both of my kids into my complete guide to flying with a baby.
