With air travel gradually resuming in many countries, many families are booking their flights to return home to see their loved ones. For those who are also looking to travel abroad with your little one, here is how it was like for our Hegen Mum, Evey Clay (@travelthough) and her husband, Bret, who travelled recently with Keira, their nearly one-year old daughter, from UK back to Singapore!

Hello Evey! Tell us about yourself and your family: 

I’m Evey Clay, mum to Keira who is nearly one-year old. I’m from Singapore and Bret is from the UK. We met when we were 16 in school, and got married when we were 23. I’m a doctor and Bret is a project manager and together we create content on family life! 

When travelling was put on hold because of COVID-19, how did it affect you? 

We travel back and forth between the UK and Singapore quite often, but this has been tricky due to COVID-19. However, it gave us the opportunity to appreciate local travel a lot more. Earlier in May 2021, we were in the UK and we spent our time visiting local towns and cities that we’d never been to even though it was only a stone’s throw away. We are definitely thankful for the vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) which have opened up as we were able to travel home to Singapore in time for Christmas with friends and family.

You flew back recently with your daughter from UK to Singapore. Can you share with us your biggest concern during your flight?

Our recent flight from UK to Singapore took 13.5 hours. It was even more challenging because we recently moved out of London so our journey to the airport added on another 3 hours. Overall our journey door to door took nearly 20 hours taking into account the COVID-19 tests we had to do once we arrived at Changi airport. 

Our main concern was definitely about how clean our surroundings were as we travelled - taxis, the airport and the plane. To manage those concerns, we prepped ourselves by having zip lock bags of masks, sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizers that were easily reachable. We made sure to wipe down any seats or surfaces we put Keira on. At Keira’s age, she puts everything in her mouth! So we made a conscious effort to wipe her hands frequently and also brought toys that could be cleaned easily just in case they ended up on the floor. When on the plane, we minimised walking up and down the aisle and minimised interaction with the cabin crew and even other passengers.  

Do you have any tips for parents planning to travel with a young baby during Covid?

Bring lots of food and snacks, lots of toys and mini books to keep your baby occupied.  A safe number of diapers and change of clothes, not just for your baby but also for yourself! Lastly, and most importantly, bring plenty of wipes and hand sanitizer.

If you’d like to see how Evey and Bret introduced Keira to her paternal grandparents for the first time on their surprise trip to UK in May 2021, do check out their video on YouTube.