How To Change A Baby's Diaper Mid-Flight (And Why The Internet Is Fuming Over The Topic)

Is there anything worse than smelling anything on an airplane? Feet, gas, body odor, garlic breath, nail polish, someone's carefully planned hard-boiled egg snack — even perfume feels sacrilegious at 30,000 feet. Not everyone appreciates your Chanel No. 5, no matter how classic it is. In these pressurized little compartments that keep getting pricier while offering fewer perks and less legroom every year, all anyone really wants are neutrals: neutral sounds, neutral light, neutral smells. That's why a few situations are riskier than a flight with a baby on board who needs a diaper change. The debate over where to handle that midair is ongoing.

Some airplanes have pull-out changing tables in the bathrooms — often above the back of a toilet, though the location varies. But changing tables aren't guaranteed, and even when available, those bathrooms are tight. On Reddit, a heated discussion in r/AmITheA**hole (AITA) highlighted this dilemma after one user shared a story about a flight where a parent changed their infant's dirty diaper on a tray table. "We were right by the bathrooms, which I confirmed had baby changing tables when I had to go back there to throw up after the smell hit me," the poster wrote. Later, when the parents prepared to change a second diaper, the Redditor asked them to use the bathroom instead — a request backed by the flight attendant but which enraged the parents. 

One Redditor responded, "The thought of eating or drinking off a tray table used as a changing table makes me want to hurl." Another replied, "How cute. You think they really disinfect everything between flights?" Another added, "Baby turds stink worse than regular ones. Exposing people in a closed metal tube thousands of feet in the air to that is criminal."

Flying with children is stressful, and babies can make it even more so. Even the calmest kids and the most organized parents can have rough flights. Boarding after a fresh diaper change, packing the right snacks, and planning ahead can all help minimize discomfort for everyone, but sometimes, a diaper change mid-flight or a wailing take-off is unavoidable. But are parents on planes these days flat-out disregarding common courtesy?

Most posters in the Reddit discussion agreed that changing a baby's diaper in an airplane seat — especially on a tray table — crosses a line. Many were horrified that some parents seemed comfortable mixing food and dirty diapers, and shared similar stories from other public venues. Everyone agreed you should bring disinfectant wipes on trips and do your own quick wipe-down, no matter how thoroughly a plane or place was supposedly sanitized. Like cruise cabins and hotels, the unsettling truth is sometimes those public-use spaces don't get the careful cleaning we're used to at home.

One parent who's flown multiple times with two children as young as 3 months old told Reddit they'd changed a diaper in their seat once, but only when turbulence made getting up impossible. "Neither were changed on the tray, that's just gross," they wrote. "Both were on a blanket on my lap or my other child's seat. Everything was wiped down, disinfected as fast as humanly possible. Also placed in a special disposal bag — never for the love of god [hand] staff — airline or anywhere else — a bare, dirty diaper. What happened to being courteous?" As another user said, "Sadly, there's a lot of people out there who think that having a kid or being pregnant is a free pass to do whatever they want."

If anyone's seen it all, it's flight attendants — the ones who have to troubleshoot every kind of in-flight odor, including diaper-related ones. One, who's also a parent, weighed in on Reddit r/beyondthebump, empathizing with passengers who've had to sit near diaper changes, and noting that flight attendants themselves aren't allowed to handle bodily fluids (including diapers and vomit). The attendant said they'd seen both — diaper changes on laps in seats, and squeezing into the tiny lavatories — and neither option is ideal. Still, they suggested that if it's not a full-on blow-out, a quick change on the lap could be acceptable. 

Another Reddit user chimed in: "I usually go to the lavatory, but I don't always close the door. No space for that nonsense ... and I'm pretty petite." A mom of a 3-month-old wrote, "It would not even occur to me to change her on my lap. To me, poo and pee belong in the bathroom, not a shared indoor public space." Another relayed how stressful it was to not be allowed to queue for the bathroom — only the front, frequently-occupied lavatory had a changing table — and she was sitting in the back.

Later, the same flight attendant returned with an update, admitting that changing in the seat was almost impossible. Yet, they noted, the child will soon be too tall for the lavatory table. "We'll be packing pull-ups so I can change him while he stands in the lav," they wrote. "[I] have a new appreciation for parents traveling with their babies and extra sympathy for those who need an extra hand. To change or not to change in the seats is a judgment call — just don't do anything that'll get poop where it shouldn't, and definitely do not use the tray table."