---
type: Airport Family Guide
title: "El Paso International Airport (ELP) with Kids: Every Family Facility, Mapped"
description: ELP has the Junior Pilots Lounge, 3 nursing rooms (one pre-security) and 2 family restrooms — verified against elpasointernationalairport.com Aug 2026.
resource: https://www.velivolotravel.com/family-airport-guide/el-paso-international-airport-elp
tags: [airport, family, travel, ELP, us-south]
timestamp: 2026-08-04
---

# El Paso International Airport (ELP) with Kids: Every Family Facility, Mapped

**Short answer:** El Paso International Airport has one children's play area, the Junior Pilots Lounge, at the far end of Concourse B, plus three nursing rooms — one per concourse and, unusually, one pre-security in the Arrival Lounge. Two family restrooms sit on either side of security. ELP has no sensory room and no confirmed family security lane.

**Velivolo family score:** 6.5/10 (Decent)

El Paso International Airport punches above its size for families: the ELP Junior Pilots Lounge is a flight-themed play space at the far end of Concourse B, and three nursing rooms cover both concourses plus the pre-security Arrival Lounge — a rare option for a non-travelling parent. Two family restrooms sit on either side of the single checkpoint. There's no sensory room, but ELP confirms it has no dedicated family security lane, and a single upper-level checkpoint means there's no wrong queue to pick for either concourse.

## Quick facts

- The ELP Junior Pilots Lounge sits at the far east end of Concourse B, marked U19 on the official terminal map, near gates B7–B11.
- El Paso's Arrival Lounge nursing room, on the Lower Level, is reachable without a boarding pass — a rare pre-security option.
- A single TSA checkpoint on the Upper Level serves both Concourse A and Concourse B.
- El Paso confirms it has no dedicated family security lane and directs travellers needing screening help to TSA Cares.
- A courtesy cart operates in Concourse B for passengers with mobility issues, Sunday–Friday 4:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. and Saturday 4:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

## Facility matrix

| Facility | Status | Terminals | Security side | Hours | Age limit | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children's play area | available | Concourse B | post-security | Not published | Not published | free |
| Nursing room / lactation pod | available | Concourse A, Concourse B, Arrival Lounge | both | Not published | — | free |
| Family / companion care restroom | available | Concourse B, Lower Level | both | Terminal hours | — | free |
| Baby changing table | unconfirmed | — | unknown | — | — | free |
| Sensory room | none | — | unknown | — | — | n/a |
| Family security lane | none | — | unknown | — | — | n/a |
| Stroller rental | none | — | unknown | — | — | n/a |
| Dedicated family lounge | none | — | unknown | — | — | n/a |

## Play areas

| Name | Location | Security side | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELP Junior Pilots Lounge | Main Terminal · Concourse B · Upper Level · Marked U19 on the official terminal map, at the far east end of Concourse B by gates B7–B11 | post-security | The airport itself publishes only the name and the map pin. The company that built it, Soft Play, describes a flight-themed space with a miniature air-traffic-control tower, a small aeroplane and climbing structures, ringed by adult seating with charging ports (softplay.com/work/el-paso-international-airport). | https://elpasointernationalairport.com/assets/documents/Airport/Terminal-Services/EPIA-MAP-6.17.22.pdf |

## Nursing rooms

| Name | Location | Security side | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing Room — Concourse A | Main Terminal · Concourse A · Upper Level · At the head of Concourse A by the U3/U4 units (Home Team Sports and the WiFi Lounge), between gates A1 and A4 | post-security | El Paso publishes no key, code or app requirement — the room appears on the terminal map with no access note. | https://elpasointernationalairport.com/assets/documents/Airport/Terminal-Services/EPIA-MAP-6.17.22.pdf |
| Nursing Room — Concourse B | Main Terminal · Concourse B · Upper Level · By Gate B6, in the restroom cluster next to the Concourse B food court (units U12–U15) | post-security | El Paso publishes no key, code or app requirement — the room appears on the terminal map with no access note. | https://elpasointernationalairport.com/assets/documents/Airport/Terminal-Services/EPIA-MAP-6.17.22.pdf |
| Nursing Room — Arrival Lounge | Main Terminal · Lower Level · In the Arrival Lounge, by the L18 unit and the restrooms | pre-security | El Paso publishes no key, code or app requirement — the room appears on the terminal map with no access note. | https://elpasointernationalairport.com/assets/documents/Airport/Terminal-Services/EPIA-MAP-6.17.22.pdf |

## Family restrooms

| Name | Location | Security side | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family/Special Needs Restroom — Concourse B by Gate B6 | Main Terminal · Concourse B · Upper Level · By Gate B6, next to the Concourse B food court and the nursing room | post-security |  | https://elpasointernationalairport.com/assets/documents/Airport/Terminal-Services/EPIA-MAP-6.17.22.pdf |
| Family/Special Needs Restroom — Lower Level, La Placita shop area | Main Terminal · Lower Level · By the L11–L13 units (Art Windows Gallery, La Placita Conference Room, EPIA History Display), near baggage claim | pre-security |  | https://elpasointernationalairport.com/assets/documents/Airport/Terminal-Services/EPIA-MAP-6.17.22.pdf |

## Security with children

- **Family lane:** El Paso has a single TSA checkpoint on the upper level serving both concourses and advertises no family lane. Its Accessible Travel page directs travellers needing help through screening to TSA Cares on 1-855-787-2227, at least 72 hours before the flight.
- **Strollers and car seats:** TSA rules apply: strollers, umbrella strollers, baby carriers, car seats and booster seats are screened by X-ray, and anything too large for the belt is inspected by hand. Take your child out and carry them through the walk-through metal detector.
- **Formula, milk and baby food:** Formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby food including puree pouches are allowed over 3.4 oz (100 ml) and do not have to fit in the quart bag. Your child does not need to be travelling with you to carry breast milk. Declare them at the start of screening and take them out of your bag.
- **Shoes:** Children 12 and under can leave their shoes, light jackets and headwear on during screening.
- **PreCheck:** Children 17 and under go through the TSA PreCheck lane free with an enrolled adult whose boarding pass carries the PreCheck indicator.
- Source: https://elpasointernationalairport.com/shop-eat-discover/terminal-services/accessible-travel/

## Getting between terminals

El Paso International is a single terminal on two levels. The lower level holds ticketing, baggage claim, car rentals, the La Placita shop area and the Arrival Lounge; escalators and lifts lead up to the one TSA checkpoint, with Concourse A running west and Concourse B east. Concourse B is much the longer of the two and holds the food court, the USO Lounge and the Junior Pilots Lounge. A courtesy cart operates in Concourse B for passengers with mobility issues, Sunday–Friday 4:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. and Saturday 4:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Free WiFi covers the whole building.
- Source: https://elpasointernationalairport.com/assets/documents/Airport/Terminal-Services/EPIA-MAP-6.17.22.pdf

## Layover plans

### 1-2 hours — Head straight to whichever concourse you're flying from

1. Clear the single upper-level checkpoint; both concourses branch off the same post-security hall.
2. If you're in Concourse B, the nursing room by Gate B6 sits next to the family restroom and the food court.
3. If you're in Concourse A, the nursing room at the head of the concourse near gates A1–A4 is your only feeding option on that side.

### 3-5 hours — Make time for the Junior Pilots Lounge

1. Walk to the far east end of Concourse B, past the food court, for the ELP Junior Pilots Lounge — the only play area at ELP.
2. If you're departing from Concourse A, budget extra walking time to reach it, since it's only accessible after security on the B side.
3. Use the Concourse B food court for a meal — it's the only outlet cluster with a nursing room and family restroom right beside it.
4. Grab a Sunflower lanyard in advance if it would help — El Paso posts these out rather than handing them over same-day.

### Overnight — The Arrival Lounge is your best pre-security option

1. If you're meeting an arriving family member overnight, the Arrival Lounge nursing room and restrooms are reachable without a boarding pass.
2. El Paso publishes no overnight hours for any nursing room or the Junior Pilots Lounge, so don't count on either being staffed or lit after normal hours.
3. Confirm your airline's own overnight gate policies, since El Paso publishes no guidance of its own for waiting out a long overnight connection.

## Your rights

- **Lactation:** El Paso International is not confirmed as a medium or large hub airport under the federal FAM Act's definitions, so the lactation-room mandate is not confirmed to apply here the way it does at bigger hubs. El Paso nonetheless runs three of its own nursing rooms, including the rare pre-security option in the Arrival Lounge.
- **Changing tables:** The FAM Act's changing-table requirement is written for medium and large hub airports, so it is not confirmed to apply at ELP. The airport's official terminal map marks two Family/Special Needs Restrooms, but publishes no statement on changing tables specifically.
- **Liquids:** TSA's national rule applies at ELP regardless of hub size: formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby food including puree pouches over 3.4 oz (100 ml) are allowed and don't need to fit in the quart bag, and your child does not have to be travelling with you to carry breast milk. Declare them at the start of screening.
- **Boarding:** Priority boarding for families is set by your airline, not by El Paso International — check your carrier's policy before you fly.
- **If it is missing:** El Paso's Accessible Travel page directs travellers needing help through screening to TSA Cares on 1-855-787-2227, at least 72 hours before the flight. For other family-facility questions, ask at any information point in the terminal.
- Source: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures/traveling-children

## FAQ

### Does El Paso Airport have a kids' play area?

Yes — the ELP Junior Pilots Lounge, marked U19 on the airport's official terminal map, at the far east end of Concourse B near gates B7–B11, past the food court. El Paso International Airport itself publishes only the name and the map location; the space's builder, Soft Play, describes a flight-themed area with a miniature air-traffic-control tower, a small aeroplane and climbing structures, ringed by adult seating with charging ports. The catch is that it's only reachable after security, and only from Concourse B — if your gate is in Concourse A, you'll walk the full length of the terminal to reach it, since there is no equivalent space on that side. El Paso publishes no opening hours, age range or supervision policy for the lounge.

### Where are the nursing rooms at ELP?

El Paso has three, and one of them is genuinely unusual: it sits before security. The Concourse A nursing room is at the head of that concourse, near gates A1 to A4, in the cluster with the restrooms and an ATM before the gates fan out. The Concourse B nursing room is by Gate B6, next to the food court and the family restroom. The third is in the pre-security Arrival Lounge on the Lower Level, by the L18 unit — reachable without a boarding pass, which makes it one of the few nursing rooms at any US airport a non-travelling parent can use while waiting for an arriving flight. El Paso's terminal map marks all three but gives no text description of sinks, outlets, locks or hours for any of them.

### Are there family restrooms at El Paso International?

Yes, two confirmed locations, one on each side of security. The first is by Gate B6, in the same restroom cluster as the Concourse B nursing room and food court, past the checkpoint. The second is on the Lower Level, in the La Placita shop area near baggage claim, before security — useful for a family meeting an arriving passenger. El Paso's Accessible Travel page describes family restrooms as 'located throughout the airport', which is broader wording than the two locations its own terminal map actually pins, so treat two as the confirmed minimum rather than the total — there may be more that simply aren't mapped in text.

### Does ELP have a sensory room?

No, El Paso has no dedicated sensory room. What it offers instead is the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard programme, which must be requested by email in advance rather than collected same-day at the airport — a real planning constraint if you decide you need one on the morning of your flight. El Paso's Accessible Travel page names this as its main provision for travellers with non-visible disabilities, alongside a mobility courtesy cart that runs in Concourse B Sunday through Friday 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday 4:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. If your child needs support through screening specifically, TSA Cares at 1-855-787-2227 is El Paso's recommended route, again with at least 72 hours' notice requested.

### Can I rent a stroller at El Paso Airport?

No. El Paso publishes no stroller rental at ELP. The airport's official terminal map marks SmarteCarte luggage-cart points on the Lower Level, and its Services Overview page lists food, shops, art, a shoeshine stand and self-service kiosks — no rental service of any kind appears among them. If you need a stroller at the gate, bring your own and check your airline's own gate-check policy, since El Paso doesn't publish one and offers no guidance on where a gate-checked stroller ends up. Given ELP is a single terminal with one checkpoint and two concourses, the walking distances are manageable even without a rental, though Concourse B is notably longer than Concourse A.

### Does ELP have a family security lane?

No — and El Paso is one of the more direct airports about this. Its Accessible Travel page states plainly that the airport has a single TSA checkpoint on the upper level serving both concourses and advertises no family lane, directing travellers who need help through screening to TSA Cares on 1-855-787-2227 at least 72 hours ahead. Because there's only one checkpoint at ELP, there's at least no risk of queuing at the wrong one the way there might be at a multi-terminal airport. Standard TSA child procedures still apply: children 12 and under can keep shoes, jackets and headwear on, and children 17 and under can use PreCheck free with an enrolled adult.

### What restaurants at ELP are good for young kids?

El Paso's Food & Beverages page gives type, price and hours for every outlet but nothing about children specifically, so nothing here is confirmed as kid-friendly by the airport itself. The Concourse B Food Court, by Gate B6, is the practical choice: it sits directly beside the nursing room and family restroom, and includes Slice for pizza and wings, open 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily — arguably the most obviously child-friendly menu on offer at ELP, even though the airport names no kids' menu anywhere. Concourse A is thinner: Standard Star, across from Gate A2, is one of only two outlets on that side and doesn't open on weekends. Chiquis Bakery, pre-security in the Main Lobby, is the longest-open option if you're waiting for an arrival.

### Is El Paso International Airport easy to navigate with young children?

Yes, reasonably so. ELP is a single terminal on two levels: the Lower Level holds ticketing, baggage claim, car rentals and the pre-security Arrival Lounge, and escalators and lifts lead up to the one TSA checkpoint on the Upper Level, where Concourse A runs west and Concourse B runs east. Because both concourses branch off the same post-security hall, a family can walk between them without re-screening, though Concourse B is considerably the longer of the two. Free WiFi covers the whole building, and a mobility courtesy cart runs in Concourse B most of the week for passengers who need it. The trade-off is that Concourse A is thin on amenities compared to Concourse B, which holds the food court, the USO Lounge and the Junior Pilots Lounge.

## Related airports

- [Austin (AUS)](https://www.velivolotravel.com/okf/airports/austin-bergstrom-international-airport-aus.md) — A bigger Texas airport in this same guide that, unlike ELP, publishes no nursing room at all — a striking contrast.
- [Dallas (DFW)](https://www.velivolotravel.com/okf/airports/dallas-fort-worth-international-airport-dfw.md) — Texas's major hub, with eight nursing rooms across five terminals — see how the bigger version compares.
- [San Antonio (SAT)](https://www.velivolotravel.com/okf/airports/san-antonio-international-airport-sat.md) — Another mid-size Texas airport, useful if you're comparing smaller Texan hubs for a family trip.
- [Albuquerque (ABQ)](https://www.velivolotravel.com/okf/airports/albuquerque-international-sunport-abq.md) — A similarly-sized neighboring Southwest airport, but one with no play area at all — ELP does better here.

## Sources

- [ELP — Terminal Map (official PDF) (2022)](https://elpasointernationalairport.com/assets/documents/Airport/Terminal-Services/EPIA-MAP-6.17.22.pdf) — Junior Pilots Lounge, three nursing rooms and family restrooms
- [ELP — Accessible Travel (2026)](https://elpasointernationalairport.com/shop-eat-discover/terminal-services/accessible-travel/) — Family restroom note, no family lane, Sunflower programme
- [ELP — Services Overview (2026)](https://elpasointernationalairport.com/shop-eat-discover/terminal-services/services-overview/) — No stroller rental confirmed
- [ELP — Food & Beverages (2026)](https://elpasointernationalairport.com/shop-eat-discover/terminal-services/food-and-beverages/) — Restaurant names, hours and price ranges
- [TSA — Traveling with Children (2026)](https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures/traveling-children) — National screening rules for children and liquids

**Last checked:** 2026-08-04