Dealing with bored, over-excited and often tired kids is a situation most parents flying with children have had to deal with. And as the school summer holidays are now just weeks away, the fear factor of worn-down and weary families heading to the airport has already set in.
Luxury villa holidays specialist Oliver’s Travels has revealed what families in London really think about UK airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, as parents with young children voiced their concerns about current facilities. More than two thirds of families in London (69 per cent) feel like other types of travellers get a better experience and a quarter (28 per cent) feel like airports don’t do enough to cater for them and their children.
In a bid to improve the travelling experience for families, Oliver’s Travels has launched an official petition to encourage UK airports to better cater to the needs of families.
Extensive research by the luxury villa provider to its database of travellers, coupled with research conducted by Censuswide*, has revealed that nine out of 10 London parents (92 per cent) said improving the airport experience for their family would improve their overall enjoyment of the holiday.
A staggering 97 per cent of parents in the capital felt their airport experience would be greatly enhanced by the introduction of a dedicated family lounge. The top five most important features that families from across London would want to see in a dedicated family lounge were:
1. A soft play area
2. More family seating areas
3. Child friendly eateries
4. Somewhere for parents to relax while their children safely played
5. A napping zone for children and adults
Oliver Bell, co-founder and owner of Oliver’s Travels, commented: “The airport is the first stage for our families beginning their holiday experience. We want to ensure that families have the best overall holiday experience and our research clearly shows that airports play an integral role in making that happen, with families across London reinforcing that it impacts on the overall enjoyment of their holiday.
“We want to work collectively with the wider travel industry to improve and develop the family travel offering and experience, from families leaving the house to arriving at their chosen villa, and are looking forward to seeing more airports pledge their commitment and consider implementing aspects of this across the UK.”
For more information about Oliver’s Travel’s, please visit https://www.oliverstravels.com and to sign the petition visit http://chng.it/MGbSgYJN2t.