Baggage Rules

Hand luggage and checked baggage follow two different published rule sets — here is how the frames differ, what typical limits look like, and which items are restricted.

Airlines publish baggage rules in two separate places: a cabin baggage section and a checked baggage section of the same conditions page. The two rule sets use different units of measurement — cabin bags are described in centimetres and kilograms, checked bags in pieces and weight — and they are enforced at different checkpoints. The cabin frame is checked at the gate with a metal sizer; the checked frame is enforced at the check-in desk scale.

Typical published cabin frames on short-haul routes fall around 40–55 × 35–40 × 20–25 cm with a weight limit of 7–10 kg. Long-haul full-service carriers often allow a personal item plus a larger cabin bag, while low-cost carriers charge for anything above a small under-seat item. The exact frame is printed in the booking confirmation and should be measured at home, because the gate sizer does not adjust.

Checked baggage is most often expressed as one piece at 23 kg in economy on intercontinental routes, with business and premium cabins moving to two pieces at the same weight cap. Pieces above the allowance, or bags above the weight cap, become excess baggage and are charged at published per-piece or per-kilogram rates at the desk. Some low-cost carriers publish no free checked allowance at all, so the base fare covers cabin baggage only.

Restricted items fall into two categories. Prohibited items — flammable liquids and gases, fireworks, most compressed gas cylinders — cannot travel at all. Quantity-restricted items — liquids over 100 ml, aerosols, lithium batteries above 160 Wh, power banks — must travel in the cabin, with power banks and spare cells never accepted in the hold. The watt-hour rating is printed on the battery itself; milliamp-hour figures need to be converted using the nominal voltage.

The practical check before packing: weigh every bag at home against the published cap, measure the cabin bag against the printed frame, and move liquids and batteries into the cabin. What the sizer and scale accept on the day is exactly what the conditions page published before you booked.

• Cabin bag: measure against the frame printed in your confirmation, not a general rule
• Checked bag: weigh at home — 23 kg is the most common cap, not a universal one
• Liquids over 100 ml: checked baggage only, or leave them behind
• Power banks and spare lithium cells: cabin only, watt-hour rating marked on the unit
• Oversize cabin bag: expect it to be tagged and checked at the gate

Further reading

• Check-in and Airport
• Tickets and Fares