The place where most tempers are lost at an airport is the check-in desk, and the reason is almost always the same: the hand luggage goes on the scales and comes out a few kilograms over. The penalty paid at that moment is half the price of the ticket. Yet the issue is less about weight than about size, and once you learn the rules the problem ends for good. Below I have written the companies’ rules and a method for packing that works.
Hand luggage rules vary from company to company
With traditional airlines hand luggage is usually up to eight kilograms and the size is roughly within 55 cm by 40 cm by 20 cm. On top of that you are allowed a small bag or a laptop case. With low-cost airlines the situation is different: there the only thing you take free is a small bag that fits under the seat.
So when you buy the ticket, be sure to read the small print next to the price. If there is a thirty-euro difference between two tickets on the same route, that difference is usually the baggage. Adding hand luggage later is more expensive than adding it when you buy the ticket, and at the airport it is the most expensive of all.
What you cannot put in hand luggage
The liquid restriction is an international rule and very simple. No container may hold more than a hundred millilitres, they all have to go into one litre transparent sealable bag, and there is one bag. If a hundred millilitre container holds fifty millilitres of liquid, it passes; but if a two hundred millilitre container holds fifty, it does not, because they look at the container’s capacity.
Knives, scissors and long metal objects are forbidden in hand luggage. A power bank, by contrast, can only be in the hand luggage and must not be put in a suitcase going into the hold. Medicine and baby food count as exceptions, but have a prescription or an explanation with you.
How to pack a suitcase
Rolling clothes rather than folding them wins up to twenty per cent of the space and reduces creasing. Do not leave the inside of shoes empty; put socks and a charger in there. Put the heaviest items in the part of the suitcase near the wheels, which makes carrying it easier.
There is one rule that always works. The day before you set out, lay everything you are going to take on the bed, then put a third of it back. There is no point in taking a shirt you will not wear twice. Keep one spare set of clothes in your hand luggage, though, because when the baggage is delayed that is your only salvation.
Read more: A Schengen countries travel guide: 29 countries on one visa, choosing a route, trains and budget
If the baggage is lost or delayed
Before leaving the airport, go to the baggage desk and have a report drawn up; this is called the PIR document. Without it making a claim later becomes difficult. Keep the baggage tag together with the ticket; without it the search drags on.
Under the international convention there is a compensation limit for lost baggage and it is around one thousand four hundred special drawing units. Do not put valuables into the hold, because jewellery and equipment are not covered by that compensation. Official information on passenger rights is set out on the IATA site.
In one sentence
The hand luggage question is settled when you buy the ticket, not at the airport. Look at the company’s size limit, remember the liquid rule, take a spare set of clothes with you. To build the travel documents and the visa process together, fill in the application form.
Note: size and weight limits vary by airline, so check the company’s own rules when you buy the ticket.
