Carry On Luggage Rules - Let's Fly Through
Have you ever thought “Can I bring my mascara in my carry on? It’s expensive and I don’t want them to take it”. You need our Carry On Luggage Rules Guide.
Or, “I have prescription drugs and I don’t want to get in trouble or be embarrassed when I open my bag at Security“.
Well, good news friends. All that information you need is readily published. That’s right, what you CANNOT take is given to you. Everything else is greenlit. Now, before you scamper off to stick the fridge in your samsonite, or even your Tesla, a certain amount of common sense needs to be supplied.
Carry On Luggage Rules
Below you will find the links to all the resources you need. Now, these are global but that doesn’t mean they cover everywhere. Certain countries have specific restrictions, say in the middle east or North Korea. Also, we don’t cover food or “organic” types of things that need special attention.
For this you need the IATA Travel Centre.
But if you are traveling normally and would like to just double check on the usual stuff. Toiletries, devices, medicines, whether for the cabin or checked baggage. What kinds of things they are checking for at check-in (checked baggage) versus the hand baggage screening area.
So, what we will do is take a virtual flight and go through the various stages of the journey and connect the data at each stage. That way you might take your own mental journey with us, “packing” your bags, and feel confident about what you’re bringing. Or what you need to leave behind.
Or who – Am I right!?
Come Fly with me
Ok, Close your eyes
You are about to take your trip. You could be alone, or with your partner, or with your family. Doesn’t matter. But the stress levels are rising. I bet you can feel it right now. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
It could be just down to Panama City Beach, or to Hong Kong. We all panic about passports and toothbrush chargers and the fear levels start to rise. Did you know that fear of flying is not a thing? It isn’t.
We have another article on it. Fear of flying is a stress response brought about by the traveling process that can trigger bad feelings once you are in your seat or just beforehand. We are so stressed by the process that this manifests itself through being afraid of the aircraft and the flight itself.
Anything you can do to limit that anxiety will enormously reduce this fear if you are subject to it. So let’s go through our virtual airport.
Carry on Luggage Rules - Check-in
You’ve hopped out of your car. Grabbed your backpack or taken your suitcase from the boot of your trunk. You walk through the doors, and you proceed to check in.
Some check-ins are real people with important questions, some are machines that make you do all the work. Just like new supermarkets. Either way, you are checking in your luggage. This is the first stage where your past decisions matter.
Don’t worry, it’s hard to get this wrong. We know you’re not an idiot, so we know the bag is within the weight limits set when you purchased your ticket. So, you hand over the suitcase or plonk it on the bag drop. There is only a small list of restricted items we hope you did not put in your bag. These are EXPLOSIVE and INCENDIARY devices such as…
- Ammunition.
- Blasting caps.
- Detonators and fuses.
- Mines, grenades, and other explosive military stores.
- Fireworks and other pyrotechnics.
- Smoke-generating canisters and smoke-generating cartridges.
- Dynamite, gunpowder, and plastic explosives.
I mean it makes sense. Anything that could malfunction and cause damage to the aircraft structure or systems and bring it down. Anything else you can bring as checked luggage. Our advice here – If you have ANY doubts about something, stick it in your checked luggage where it’s fine.
Airport Security Screening
Ok, we’re going to spend most of our time here. Why? Because the sole objective of this area and these nice kind people is to stop what is blandly known as “unauthorized acts” onboard your aircraft.
We want to stop anything that a terrorist (or otherwise) might find useful on a cruising aircraft to cause damage, harm, or upset to himself or others on the aircraft. Because lots of people want to carry only hand luggage and save time and money, we need to check these bags carefully. By hand and with machines.
Some people try to bring things that could be used by others to cause damage. Things like small scissors, aerosols, and mace could be in your bag and could also be used by someone else to cause harm. Here is the list of items that you should not have in your carry-on bag.
And here is the list of items that are limited by quantity (volume) in the EU.