Originally Posted by
GUWonder
When having to carry more stuff than you can move by yourself at one time...be prepared to do the repeated shuffle back and forth to inch your way forward by moving some stuff ahead a bit at a time and repeating it until you get where you need to get to unload what you can. But this could be challenging if in a rush, impatient yourself or dealing with impatient child/children.
As
GUWonder has pointed out, allowing as much time as you possibly can to get through the airport is absolutely essential, and while car seats are always extremely important, CARES harnesses would be good option for your situation.
One other thing you might want to consider is getting a
Trunki suitcase for the four year old (our neighbor’s kid has one and loves it). We’ve seen parents attach the strap from their kid’s Trunki suitcase to the frame of a stroller and then carefully push stroller. This might be a way for the four year old to keep up and still have fun, and it also provides some extra space to pack things. If you were to take stroller with an infant car seat attachment as
GUWonder suggested, a Trunki suitcase could be an alternative to a wheeled standing board.
Another suggestion which might be helpful is to turn the journey into some sort of game/story which would help keep your older two kids interested in getting through the airport. We traveled with a stroller for our daughter for just over ten years (and her car seat for a few more) and we always tried to involve her as much we could in navigating the airport. She was much older then than your kids (she could read the terminal map, etc.), but something like a series of things they have to see/find in the right order, maybe with some simple questions for each thing, might structure the journey for them and introduce a different element of fun.
Obviously every kid is different, but we also found consistency really important for planning. Is there anything which you’ve done before which can be planned into the trip? Things like the kids each taking a favorite toy, getting an ice cream, watching the planes somewhere? If there is, you might want to think about emphasizing those things in your plan if at all possible. They can serve as positives for the kids to look forward to, and provide moments for you to “take a break” while trying to get through the terminal.