24 Things To Do On A Plane - Airplane Activities To Keep Kids Busy - Free Printable

Get ideas for what to do on a plane. Find airplane activities to keep kids entertained on the flight. Free Printable Activity Bingo to bring on your flight.

Things To Do on a Plane for Kids

We frequently fly with the kids and have picked up a lot of tips and tricks over the years. Today I'm sharing the ideas and airplane activities that we do to keep the kids entertained on the flight.

There are so many things to do on a plane for kids. Sitting in an airplane can be tedious, so let's try to make it fun for the kids.

Tried and Tested Airplane Activities to Keep Kids Entertained on a Plane

I think about how to keep kids entertained on a plane frequently, especially as I'm preparing for a trip.

These are all tried and tested airplane activities that we have done in the past with our kids. To make it more helpful, I put them all together in the form of a free printable activity bingo for you.

We frequently use activity bingo cards to let our kids know what is appropriate for them to do. It gives them ideas without me having to explicitly ask them to do something.

Why Is It Important to Keep Kids Entertained and Busy on the Plane

If kids are entertained on a flight, it makes the entire travel day go smoothly. I find that I have more patience with them and I can handle unexpected changes in circumstances, queues and crowds, and time zone changes more easily.

The last thing I want to deal with on a flight is my kid complaining of being bored. Even worse is having my kid to get bored enough that they lose emotional regulation. So it's in my best interest to keep them busy and entertained.

Our Experience Flying With Kids

We used to live in London, and we have family in both the US and Asia. As a result, we started flying long-haul trips with the kids when they were babies and toddlers. In addition, we have done shorter flights throughout Europe and within the US.

In short, we've done a lot of flights with the kids. Not only have we done several long-haul flights as a family, we've both flown internationally solo with the kids, flown through COVID, done long-haul flights during the daytime, and long-haul overnight flights.

So, what airplane activities do we do to keep the kids busy during the flight?

How Do I Keep Kids Entertained on a Plane?

Here are 24 airplane activities for kids to do and keep busy:

• Spot the control tower
• Spot the pilot
• Play I-Spy
• Memorize your flight number
• Find out the type of airplane you are taking
• Take a picture with the airplane
• Find out how many seats are on the plane or your section
• Read through the airplane safety card
• Count the number of windows you can see from your seat
• Drink 2 cups of water
• Eat 2 different snacks
• Eat a meal on the plane
• Listen to an audiobook
• Read a book
• Watch a show or movie on the airplane
• Do some stretches while sitting
• Take a nap on the airplane
• Use headphones
• Draw and color a picture of an airplane
• Sit quietly with your eyes closed for 15 minutes
• Design your own plane and describe it to someone
• Teach your parent something they don't already know
• As your parent to tell you a childhood story
• Pack up all your stuff at the end of the flight

Play I-Spy and Search and Seek Games

One of the easiest airplane games to play with kids and toddlers is I-Spy. This is a great activity to do during times when waiting is required, such as boarding the plane, getting off the plane, immigration lines, and waiting for baggage claim.

Get creative for search and seek. For example, ask kids to find the following:

• The control tower
• The airplane's pilot
• A pink suitcase
• A cowboy hat
• 10 people wearing blue shirts
• A pet in a carrier
• 3 water fountains

Activities to Learn About Your Airplane

When kids are young, the entire airplane feels like a giant play zone. Everything is new and exciting.

A few educational airplane activities that keep kids busy:

• Take a picture with the airplane
• Find out how many seats are on the plane or your section
• Read through the airplane safety card
• Count the number of windows you can see from your seat
• Memorize your flight number

In Flight Eating and Hydration

When traveling with toddlers and kids, it is crucial to pack enough snacks for the flight.

We always pack each kid their own yumbox filled with a variety of snacks. Each kid also brings a stackable snack container tube. The snack container tube easily fits in any water bottle slot, making it easy to bring around while traveling.

If possible, remove any and all wrappers from the snacks and put them directly into the yumbox. That way, you minimize the amount of trash at your seats. Kids can also just eat a few pieces of this and a few pieces of that.

Some favorite airplane snacks for kids and toddlers:

• Fruit snacks
• Small crackers such as goldfish, cheez-its, animal crackers, wheat thins
• Fruits such as blueberries, cut apples, peeled cuties (I always pre-peel them so we minimize trash at our seats)
• Granola bars
• Lollipops (they take a while to eat)
• Grissini Breadsticks (they fit into the long rectangle section of the yumbox)
• Chocolate chips
• Chocolate or Yogurt covered raisins

Don't forget to book your child a kids meal, or another special meal, if they prefer. We used to sometimes order our toddler a "fruit platter meal". You can't go wrong with fruit, plus it's hydrating. It's not enough for a full meal, but I would always pack substantial food anyway.

Quiet Airplane Activities for Kids To Do While Seated

There are a lot of quiet activities kids can do on an airplane while seated in their seats:

• Listen to an audiobook
• Read a book
• Watch a show or movie
• Do some stretches while sitting
• Use headphones
• Take a nap
• Draw and color
• See how long they can sit quietly with their eyes closed

If you get your kids headphones, don't forget to let them try it on before the flight. We used this one when our kids were toddlers, and the kids still use it. The share port is good for the siblings when they watch shows together. You can see the headphones in the photo above.

In order for a kid to listen to an audiobook I've downloaded to my phone, we also have the Lil Gadget bluetooth version.

Have a Conversation During the Flight to Keep Kids Busy

A long flight is a perfect time to have a conversation with your child. It's fun to share childhood tales - either your own childhood, or tell the kid stories about when they were younger.

Here are a few prompts that can get conversations started with your child:

• Design your own plane and describe it to someone (If I Built a Car is a great inspiration)
• Teach your parent something they don't already know
• As your parent to tell you a childhood story
• What was your favorite part of the trip and why
• What should we do or pack differently for our next vacation

If you want to go this route, Table Topics Family Edition is a super fun way to engage kids in conversation. Moreover, the cards are small and handy to bring on a plane too.

Keep Your Kids Occupied with Tasks For the Flight

When we travel, my kids love to feel important and keep track of things for us.

We keep the kids busy at the airport and on the plane by asking them to keep track of the following:

• Look at the airport map and lead the way to the gate
• Find the seats on the airplane
• Carry their own backpack
• Pack up all their stuff at the end of the flight, and check around everyone's seats
• Figure out the time at the destination and what the first meal will be
• Hold the passports in the immigration line (risky!)

Activities for Toddlers on a Plane

Most all of the activities I suggest in this post are suitable for toddlers. However, when I flew with my kids as toddlers, I always wanted a few extra tricks up my sleeve. So, I totally understand if you want even more ideas.

The ideas I suggest above don't require you to bring extra things onto the plane. But you can easily distract toddlers with new toys. In addition, toddlers and are more tactile than older kids so toys work well.

Here are a few handy small toys that you can bring on a flight for toddlers:

• Melissa and Doug Sticker Wow! - The sticker dispenser is fun and easy for toddlers to use themselves
• Melissa and Doug Magic Velvet Coloring - Velvet coloring works great for toddlers, and this coloring book is small enough for an airplane tray table
• Animal Pop Tubes - Simple tubes are fun, but these animal tubes can double as pretend play characters
• Wooden Lacing Toy - A basic lacing set is lightweight and easy to travel with

What To Do on an Airplane

I hope you've found a lot of ideas for what to do on an airplane that will work for your family and kids.

Additionally, to make things even easier for your flight, I compiled the list of these airplane activities into a free printable activity bingo. You can download the activity bingo below.

My kids really enjoy printable activity bingos because the bingo cards set expectations of what the kids need and can do. Furthermore, I love setting expectations this way because it gives kids ideas on what to do without me having to explicitly ask or tell them to do something.

Save these for when you need them: Weekend Activity Bingo and Sick Day Bingo.

Let Kids See The Airplane Activities on the Bingo Before The Flight

Get the kids excited about this airplane activity bingo before the trip.

We're planning a trip next week. I have already given my kids a copy of this printable airplane activity. As a result, the kids know what they can do when they are on the flight. Moreover, they can plan what they will do.

To check off all the bingo squares, planning ahead is helpful. For instance, before the flight, I'll work with my kids to download some audiobooks to listen to on the plane.

Even though the plane has entertainment, I'll also I download a few shows I know they will enjoy watching. You never know, the TV might be unexpectedly broken on the airplane.

Lastly, the kids can plan to bring a book to read, or paper and crayons to draw an airplane.

Things To Do On a Long Flight

This printable airplane activity contains a total of 24 ideas for kids to do on a flight. Depending on the length of your flight, you can set the goal of doing a certain number of activities.

If you have a long-haul flight with kids, it's likely that they will have enough time to complete the entire activity bingo.

For us, the kids will earn a lollipop or candy for each row they complete. If they complete the entire card, we'll visit an ice cream shop when we land.

Don't tell the kids that they would have naturally gotten lollipops and a trip to the ice cream shop on vacation anyway. I'm going to make them work for it by entertaining themselves on the flight.

Get the Free Printable Bingo with Activities To Do On the Airplane

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What Age Can Kids Do the Airplane Activities on the Bingo Card?

I created this airplane activity bingo for my elementary aged child. However, I think kids as young as 3 can do the activities on this bingo card. The only difference is that you will need to read the activities out loud to a younger child.