Every year, millions of passengers travel into and out of the UK’s airports, and for the vast majority of them the experience is a pleasant one. With facilities such as efficient transport links and meet and greet, Gatwick, Heathrow, Glasgow et al are among the finest airports in the whole world, but have you ever wondered just how family-friendly they are likely to be?

Parents of young children know just how difficult it can be to keep the kids entertained at home, of course, but it can be even more problematic if you are at an airport. If a flight is delayed or – even worse – cancelled altogether, you need to find out if there are things to see and do in the vicinity to prevent the youngsters becoming restless, bored and unruly.

In all major UK airports, you will find a selection of cafes, restaurants and bars perfectly located to offer a little much-needed sustenance and of course a place to relax. If the kids prefer a quick burger to a slow roast, you will find some of the more familiar chains inside most terminals. As always, there is plenty of choice so a decision will have to be made.

Plenty to read and plenty of places to sit

If your kids would like to sit quietly and read for a while – and let’s hope they do from time to time – you will find an enormous selection of books, comics, newspapers and magazines in the local stores. And as you might expect from a facility that regularly hosts people for long periods of time, you will usually be able to find somewhere to sit down and relax.

Should you be needing to stay at the airport for a long period of time, you may like to take the children into the city for a few hours. Each UK airport is not overly far from the middle of the nearest metropolis, and thanks to the excellent train and bus networks (and in the case of Heathrow, a direct tube line) you can be among the bright lights in no time at all.

Every British airport is different, of course, but on the whole they all offer a good service to families and a number of facilities designed to make a longer stay a pleasurable experience. Whether you’re flying to Haiti from Heathrow or Berlin from Birmingham, you can be sure of having an exceptionally good time.