Let’s be real: flying long-haul with a picky eater is a test of patience, creativity, and snack-packing prowess. You’re trapped in a metal tube for 8+ hours, surrounded by strangers, with limited food options and zero escape routes. If your child’s idea of “trying new food” is sniffing a cracker suspiciously, this post is for you.
After several international flights with my snack-selective child, I’ve gathered a toolkit of strategies that actually work—not just Pinterest-perfect ideas, but real-life, sanity-saving hacks for flying with a picky eater.
1. Pack Familiar Snacks in Unfamiliar Packaging
Kids love novelty. Repack their go-to snacks into fun containers, bento boxes, or even reusable silicone pouches. It turns snack time into an activity and slows down the grazing.
Pro tip: Use a tackle box-style container with compartments. Fill each with a different snack—pretzels, dried fruit, crackers, mini rice cakes. It’s like a snack treasure chest.
2. Create a “Snack Clock”
Structure is soothing. I use a simple trick: one snack every two hours. It gives kids something to look forward to and helps prevent the dreaded “I’m hungry” meltdown mid-turbulence.
Bonus: Let them decorate a paper clock before the flight. Mark snack times and let them “check” the clock themselves. It’s empowering and distracts them from asking every 15 minutes.
3. Don’t Rely on Airline Meals
Even if you pre-order the kid’s meal, it’s a gamble. Sometimes it’s pasta, sometimes it’s mystery meat with peas. And even if it is something your kid usually eats without making a scene, remember that some of the external factors of being on an airplane can alter significantly how we perceive taste (does sudden appetite for tomato juice ring a bell?) Either way, it’s rarely picky-eater approved.
Solution: Pack a full backup meal. Think sandwich (PB&J or cheese), fruit, and something crunchy. TSA allows food through security—just avoid liquids and gels. From our experience, in most airports there will also be a selection of snacks available past the security check as well, so you will usually be able to buy stuff like yogurt pouches or small bags with pre-cut fruit. In the UK for example, Boots is usually a snack safe haven for picky snackers past security checkpoints.
4. Surprise Treats for Good Behavior
Tiny wrapped surprises—stickers, mini toys, or even a new snack—can be lifesavers. Use them as rewards for seatbelt compliance, headphone tolerance, or polite behavior toward seat neighbors.
My go-to: A zip pouch with 5 “mystery” items. Every time my child hits a milestone (e.g., eats a full snack, watches a movie quietly), they get to open one. An absolute hit for my kids was having static cling stickers as mystery items or rewards. These stickers are easily removed since they don’t actually rely on glue and they can be reused – indefinite sticker fun on a boring flight? Strong YES!
5. Hydration Without Spills
Juice boxes are cute until they explode at 30,000 feet. Bring a spill-proof water bottle and ask the flight attendant to fill it. Bonus: it’s easier to monitor intake. If your child prefers milk over juice like my son does, it is a very good idea to buy a small bottle of milk from the shops after the security checks. Why? Most airlines I have used over the past 5 years do have milk, but they only carry it in these tiny sachets they give you with your coffee – so unless you want to rip open 30 of these (provided they even let you have that many) and then empty them in a flimsy cup or try to pour them into a bottle, all while your kid is having a mid flight meltdown… do yourself a favour and just buy a bottle of milk before boarding.
This life lesson is written in my own sweat and tears, please believe me.
Tip: Avoid sugary drinks—they spike energy and crash hard. Stick to water or diluted juice.
6. Entertainment That Doesn’t Rely on Wi-Fi
Download shows, games, and audiobooks in advance and most importantly: TRY at home if they actually all work once you’ve put your device on Airplane mode (looking at you SPECIFICALLY, Amazon Fire Kids Tablet 😤). But also pack analog options: coloring books, sticker sheets, magnetic puzzles. Flying with a picky eater requires some prep but I promise it will pay off thinking about some fun screen free activities.
Unexpected hit: A mini flashlight. My child spent 45 minutes shining it on the tray table and pretending it was a spaceship.
7. Seat Strategy Matters
When it comes to travel, seat selection is NOT where you should try to cut corners – yeah, I know it feels like daylight robbery that most airlines started asking for a fee just to make sure your family can sit together, but as a professional cheapskate (oops, outed myself) this is where I just pay up and move on.
If possible, book a window seat for your child. It gives them a view, a wall to lean on, and fewer distractions. Avoid middle seats unless you’re traveling with two adults.
While some people swear on booking bulkhead seats for extra legroom and easier access to the aisle, I personally never do that and I will tell you why.
First and foremost, my kids are still little (2 and 5) so the extra leg room is a bit pointless for them. If anything it makes it more tempting for them to try to get up and run around because the physical barrier is gone.
Secondly, when you have bulkhead seats there is no seat in front of you (yeah I know haha, duh!) to rest your kids book against, or stick stickers on or – and this is the most important bit – you cannot use the seat in front of you to create a comfortable bed for your kid. That is an absolute PRO travel tip for parents and I’ll outline in a separate post how it works without getting in trouble with the flight attendants.
8. Embrace Imperfection
You won’t get it perfect. There will be crumbs, maybe tears, and probably a moment where you question your life choices. That’s normal. As a new parent, I used to feel incredibly anxious about what other passengers might think if my daughter fussed, complained, or cried mid-flight. Social media loves to spotlight dramatic reactions from adults behaving worse than the toddlers they’re annoyed by—but in real life, I’ve never actually witnessed that. Most people are kind, quietly supportive, or simply focused on their own journey. Shifting your mindset away from expecting judgment can take a huge weight off. Flying with kids is hard enough—don’t carry imagined criticism too.
Mantra: “This is temporary. We’re doing our best. Snacks are love.”
Closing Thoughts:
Flying long-haul with a picky eater isn’t easy, but it’s doable. With a little prep and a lot of empathy, you can turn a stressful journey into a surprisingly sweet memory. And who knows—maybe they’ll try airplane pasta and declare it “not terrible.” That’s a win.
