At the departure terminal, the first thing you should do is check the departures screen. This will tell you if there is any delay on your flight and at which number desk you should check in. Checking in early means avoiding queues, no more suitcases to lug around and the opportunity to reserve the seats you want if you haven't been able to do so already.

Never ever leave your baggage unattended, there is a good chance bags will be confiscated and destroyed if they are found without you. Hooking bag straps around chair legs prevents them being snatched, for example, whilst in an airport restaurant.

Parents waiting for connecting flights at Heathrow's Terminal 1 will find it easier to keep their toddlers entertained thanks to a new play area in the Flight Connection Centre.

The new play area, which has an airport theme, is on the 'comfort and care level' (second floor) of the Flight Connection Centre. Under parental supervision, children can have fun crawling in and out of the multi-coloured tubes and tunnels. A similar play area has also recently been introduced to Terminal 4's final departure lounge and there are plans to open a new play facility in Terminal 3.

At check-in make sure that the check-in clerk correctly tags each item of your checked luggage with your destination airport's three-letter code. The clerk will stick a receipt to the back of your ticket, try not to lose it off the back when you are taking your ticket in and out of your documents bag as they are so important for tracing lost luggage.

The clerk will also remove one copy of each of your tickets, make sure that only one is taken as you require two copies for each leg of your flight. You will then be given a boarding card showing your seat numbers.

Once you have checked in you can relax for a while, checking the departure screen from time to time. If Grandma and Grandpa gave you a lift to the airport hang on to them for as long as possible to amuse your children! At Heathrow there are colouring pens and books for children available from its Information Desks.

Your passports are inspected to ensure that they are valid. After passport control you will arrive at a security point. You will place your hand luggage on a conveyor belt into an x-ray machine. Although airports tell you they are safe for films, I always ask if films can be taken to the side, just in case. A security guard who can see the contents scans the bags. Any suspect bags will have their contents removed and examined. At Johannesburg airport Postman Pats van came under close scrutiny and I was asked if I was carrying any bullets! I'm not sure if Postman Pat has some sort of murky past in South Africa, as this unusual deduction still has me mystified.

You will then walk through a metal detector, or you may be gone over with a hand held metal detector.

Your bags will be available for collection at the other end of the conveyor, make sure you pick them all up. You are now in the secure area. If you need to go back outside this area for any reason you will need to go through the same process again.

At most airports, in this secure area you can do duty/tax free shopping. Boarding cards are required at the check out to prove that you are flying today so make sure you have it with you before loading your basket with goodies. During peak periods some UK airports may provide free children's entertainers for half an hour slots -what a good idea.