Baggage Rules & Policies
- Ellie Burnett
- Dec 21, 2024
- 15 min read
Baggage rules... there's so many of them. What size your bag can be, where it can be held, how tall, short, wide, and thin your bag can be. It also doesn't help that the rules are different for each airline you fly with, and get updated quite regularly.
It really helps to know exactly what your airline's rules are surrounding both hand luggage and hold luggage, and the options available to you for each of these. In this post, I am going to cover as many of these rules as possible by covering specific airlines and what their baggage rules, policies and options are. I will do a separate post on sports/musical equipment and travelling with children so keep an eye out for those!
Knowing exactly what you are and are not allowed in terms of baggage can help you to avoid airport fees. I'm sure many of us have witnessed someone at the boarding gate whose bag didn't fit in the required 'slot' each airline provides and then had to pay an unfortunate fee to be able to carry this bag. Some of us may have even been this person ourselves. However, it is very easy to get into this situation when the rules are so varied and not necessarily always made clear.
Before we begin, let's cover a couple of terms:
Hold luggage/checked baggage: this refers to the luggage which is checked in at check-in desks and travels in the hold beneath the plane.
Hand luggage: this is the luggage you carry on the plane with you. Depending on what is purchased and the specific airline rules, this can be placed in the overhead locker above your seat or placed underneath the seat in front of you - you may even purchase both!
Click below to jump to the airline that is relevant to you:
British Airways:
Baggage Size Allowance:
With British Airways, their sizing rules for a hand bag which fits under the seat are a bag which is no more than 40 x 30 x 15cm (16 x 12 x 6in) and weighs up to 23kg.
A bag which goes in the overhead locker (cabin bag) should measure no more than 56 x 45 x 25cm (22 x 18 x10in) and can weigh up to 23kg. These should not contain any valuables, electronics, or essential medications as they may need to go in the hold with checked luggage depending on space availability on your flight.
Any checked baggage can measure up to 90 x 75 x 43cm (35 x 30 x 17in). If you are flying Economy or Premium Economy, the standard weight for checked luggage is up to 23kg (51lbs). If you are travelling in First or Business Class, then the standard weight is up to 32kg (70 lbs).
Overweight Baggage:
In terms of overweight checked baggage, British Airways' site states that:
"[they] charge 65 GBP / 75 EUR / 100 USD / 100 CAD per overweight bag and one-way journey. If you’re flying from a country that uses a different local currency, the GBP amount will be converted to the local currency. In some destinations, additional local taxes may also apply. At many airports, including London Heathrow, London Gatwick and in North America, you can only pay using a credit or debit card. Cash is not accepted and Avios cannot be used for this payment."
British Airways' policy is that their 23kg weight limit applies to each bag and cannot be split between bags. As noted above, you will be charged for extra weight. However, if your checked baggage allowance is 32kg and you exceed this weight limit, it will not be accepted as checked baggage.
Extra Luggage & Fees:
If you are travelling with more than two pieces of hand luggage, or they exceed the permitted size, they may have to be put in the hold as checked baggage. However, this will depend on availability. Some locations may be subject to local taxes.
If you want to check in more baggage than your ticket allows, you can pay for this in advance. The Economy Basic fare with British Airways does not include any checked baggage, so this must be paid for if you plan to check in an item of luggage.
The specific cost of additional luggage depends on a range of factors, including your destination and how many additional bags you require. British Airways have a useful calculator available which identifies how much your extra baggage will cost for your specific journey. Adding on extra checked luggage is subject to availability on your flight and, once again, local taxes can be added on.
The best price for adding extra baggage can be found through 'Manage my booking' on a British Airways booking before you get to the airport.
EasyJet:
Baggage Size Allowance:
In terms of cabin bags, every passenger can bring one bag that fits underneath the seat in front of them, measuring no more than 45 x 36 x 20cm. This size limit includes all handles and wheels. I did once see someone break off the wheels to their suitcase at the boarding desk to avoid extra baggage fees so include the wheels in any measurements! This bag can weigh up to 15kg, and EasyJet states that you should be able to lift and carry this bag yourself.
If you wish to take a larger cabin bag, this has to be added on to the booking and does not come for free. However, you do get speedy boarding thrown in for free whem you purchase a large cabin bag. Keep reading below for fee information on this. This large cabin bag can measure up to 56 x 45 x 25cm, and weigh up to 15kg. If you are an EasyJet Plus member or have booked a FLEXI fare, this large cabin bag comes with the booking for free, so you do not have to pay to add it on. The maximum number of cabin bags is two per passenger; one small and one large cabin bag.
In terms of checked baggage, all passengers can book up to 3 hold bags. These vary in weight allowance from 15kg up to 32kg. You can choose and pay for a certain weight at checkout, or you can upgrade after you have made a booking online or via the EasyJet app. There are different costs for each weight allowance, you do not automatically get a weight allowance of up to 32kg! After purchase, extra luggage can be upgraded in increments of 3kg. The maximum size of checked baggage is 275cm (length + width + height).
Overweight Baggage:
The excess weight charge for EasyJet is £12 per kilo, per item, per flight. Checked baggage over 32kg will not be accepted.
It costs up to £15 per 3kg to upgrade your checked luggage allowance and this can be upgraded to a maximum of 32kg. It does not always cost £15 for 3kg extra, this is just the maximum you get charged for each 3kg increment.
Extra Luggage & Fees:
If you wish to take a large cabin bag with you, this should be purchased in advance either online or via the EasyJet mobile app. If your large cabin bag exceeds the relevant size (see above), you will be charged £48 at the airport and this bag will be placed in the hold with all other checked luggage.
If you want to purchase another checked piece of lugagge, this costs a minimum of £9.49 per item, per flight. The exact charge depends on factors such as the destination and time of booking. However, extra checked luggage will cost £40 at the bag drop desk at the airport if not purchased in advance.
The airport bag fee is £48, which is referred to briefly above. This airport bag fee applies to multiple situations, and these are:
Oversized small cabin bags
Oversized large cabin bags
Any non-purchased bags brought to the gate
Ryanair:
Baggage Size Allowance:
All Ryanair passengers can bring one small personal bag and it needs to fit underneath the seat in front of you. The maximum this can measure is 40 x 20 x 25cm.
If you want to take a large cabin bag on board with you, you can purchase 'Priority & 2 cabin bags'. This entitles you to:
Carry one small personal bag for underneath the seat in front of you (measuring the same as above)
Carry a 10kg on board with you to go in the overhead locker measuring no more than 55 x 40 x 20cm
Use the priority boarding queue at the gate
There are two weight options for checked in luggage which get dropped off at the check in desk upon arrival at the airport. You can purchase a 10kg or 20kg baggage option. Passengers are allowed to purchase up to 3 checked luggages weighing up to 20kg per person.
Overweight Baggage:
Ryanair charges £12 per extra kilo at the airport for checked in luggage that is the purchased weight limit.
Extra Luggage & Fees:
The below costs are per item, per flight.
For the priority and 2 cabin bags option, it costs:
Between £6 - £36 at the time of booking
Between £20 - £60 post-booking or at the airport
For a 10kg checked baggage, the costs are:
Between £9.49 - £44.99 at the time of booking
Between £23.99 - £44.99 after booking or at the airport
For a 20kg checked baggage, you will be charged:
Between £18.99 - £59.99 at the time of booking
Between £39.99 - £59.99 after booking or at the airport
The specific cost depends on your route and travel dates selected.
Vueling:
Baggage Size Allowance:
All passengers are allowed one bag which fits underneath the seat in front of you. This should measure no more than 40 x 30 x 20cm. It should fit alongside any other items you purchased at the airport.
If you purchased a large cabin bag during or after booking, this will ned to be placed in the overhead locker. It has a weight limit of 10kg and should weigh no more than 55 x 40 x 20cm. As long as this bag does not exceed the size limit and it has been pre-purchased, you can choose to check it in at check in desks and have it be placed in the hold free of charge.
In terms of checked baggage, you can purchase 15kg, 20kg, 25kg, or 30kg baggage options. The maximum size for all weight options is 158cm (height + length + width). You can purchase one bag of each type per passenger.
Overweight Baggage:
From 25kg, there will be a fee of EUR 12 per extra kilo. Baggage over 32kg will not be accepted.
Extra Luggage & Fees:
If you wish to purchase a large cabin bag if it is not already included in your fare package, then the costs are:
Between EUR 10 - EUR 59 online or on the app
Between EUR 45 - EUR 75 at the airport
A 15kg checked item of luggage starts from EUR 10 on the app or online.
A 20kg checked item of luggage starts from EUR 14 on the app or online.
A 25kg checked item of luggage starts from EUR 18 on the app or online and start from EUR 50 at the airport.
A 30kg checked item of luggage starts from EUR 25 on the app or online.
TUI:
Baggage Size Allowance:
This information is for TUI flight only bookings and TUI Airways holiday packages.
All passengers, excluding infants, are allowed one piece of hand luggage per person on flight-only bookings. This can weigh up to 10kg and measure up to 55 x 40 x 20cm. Along with this item of hand luggage, you can also take on board one small personal item, such as a bag, laptop bag or backpack which should be small enough to fit underneath the seat in front of you.
As for checked in luggage, this will be at least 20kg per passenger and 10kg for under 2s. Some packages also include 25kg. These packages that include 25kg are:
TUI River Cruise
TUI Blue
Sensatori by TUI Blue
Holiday Village
A La Carte
Premium upgrade on long-haul flights
Couples Wedding Package
This is what TUI says about checked in luggage for passengers who have booked flight only through TUI:
"You can add checked-in luggage for an extra charge while you’re booking, or through our Flight Extras website if you’ve already booked.
Booking your luggage allowance online is cheaper than paying at the airport.
There's no luggage allowance for infants, regardless of seating type, and they can't be included in any pooling of luggage allowance."
Overweight Baggage:
The charges for overweight baggage depends on the flight duration and amount of excess. The charges are as follows:
Flights less than 7 hours = £14 per extra kilo
Flights over 7 hours = £18 per extra kilo
The season you travel in may also affect charges.
Another helpful quote taken from the TUI website about weight limits is:
"There is a maximum weight limit of 50 kilograms per passenger. One piece of baggage may weigh a maximum of 32 kilograms. If you book more than 32 kilograms, you can divide the number of kilograms between several pieces of baggage."
Extra Luggage & Fees:
The following tables are taken from TUI's website, and display the costs of baggage when pre-booked and purchased at the airport. The prices are per person, per flight.
*Far destinations are Cape Verde, Senegal, Gambia and flights with a scheduled flight time of more than 8 hours.
Always check your booking information for the latest charges as these may change by destination and travel dates.
Jet2:
Baggage Size Allowance:
Every passenger can take one piece of hand luggage to place in the overhead locker. This should weigh no more than 10kg and measure no more than 56 x 45 x 25cm. To avoid this being placed in the hold due to any availability issues, simply go to 'Manage my booking' and select 'Guaranteed Cabin Luggage'.
You can also take one small personal item such as handbag, laptop case, or airport purchases. This needs to be able to fit underneath the seat in front of you.
For checked luggage, you can book up to 3 checked items weighing up to 22kg each. No single item is allowed to weigh more than 32kg.
Overweight Baggage:
Any baggage that exceeds the total weight allowance of 22kg will be carried subject to availability and at Jet2's discretion. The overweight baggage charge is £12 per kilo.
Extra Baggage & Fees:
Checked baggage with Jet2 costs between £8 - £45 depending on the destination and time of booking. The higher price range will be incurred for checked baggage purchased at the airport, so booking ahead will once again help to reduce those baggage costs.
Emirates:
Baggage Size Allowance:
Cabin bags should fit either in the overhead locker or underneath the seat in front of you. Your cabin bag allowance depends on the class you are travelling in, and also differs with a couple of select locations:
Economy: 7kg carry-on measuring no more than 55 x 38 x 22cm
Premium Economy: 10kg carry-on measuring no more than 55 x 38 x 22cm
Business & First Class: 7kg carry-on measuring no more than 45 x 35 x 20cm and 7kg briefcase/garment bag measuring no more than 55 x 38 x 22cm. The garment bag cannot be more than 20cm thick when folded.
Boarding from India: One piece of carry-on luggage measuring no more than 155cm (height + width + length)
Travel from Brazil: Carry up to 10kg of cabin luggage
Emirates has a piece concept and a weight concept for their checked luggage. Most routes follow the weight concept, whereas the piece concept applies to flights to and from The Americas & Africa.
Weight Concept |
In terms of the weight concept, for checked baggage, you are allowed to check in as many bags as you like up to the weight allowance of your travel class. Each individual bag must not weigh more than 32kg. Below is a screenshot from the Emirates website showing the baggage allowance for each class:  The dimensions of an individual item should not exceed 300cm (height + length + width). |
Piece Concept |
The piece concept means you can check in a certain number of bags and each one has a weight allowance. This concept applies to all flights to and from The Americas and flights originating from Africa. This excludes flights within America and between the US & Europe. Your baggage allowance by the piece concept is:  For flights within The Americas and between US and Europe, baggage allowance following the piece concept is:  If your trip from Australia, New Zealand, or Asia to North or South America includes a sector in Europe or a stopover in Dubai for longer than 24 hours, the weight concept will apply for the entire ticketed journey. If you are travelling into Africa with a stopover of more than 24 hours, the weight concept may apply. The total dimensions of each piece of luggage must not exceed 150 cm (length + width + height). You will be charged a fee for any items exceeding dimensions of this, up to a maximum of 300 cm, or 215 cm for travel from Dammam International Airport. If an item exceeds these dimensions, it can’t be checked in as baggage and will need to be sent as cargo or freight. |
If you're still with me after all of that... let's look at overweight baggage!
Overweight & Oversized Baggage:
If you are travelling with the allocated number of items of luggage, but these exceed the total size/weight limits, then the following fees apply. These fees also apply per item if extra baggage you have purchased is overweight/oversized.
Overweight | Oversized | Overweight & Oversized | |
Flights to/from America & flights to/from Africa | USD 75 | USD 75 | USD 150 |
Flights to/from Canada | CAD 95 | CAD 95 | CAD 185 |
Extra Baggage & Fees:
If your baggage allowance is based on the weight concept, you can purchase additional kilograms. You get a discount of 50-60% when you purchase extra weight in advance, and the more you buy, the greater the discount.
Discounts are only available online or via Emirates contact centres up to 4 hours before flying. You can purchase extra weight in increments of 5kg, up to a maximum of 50kg. If you purchase extra weight at the airport, the following table from the Emirates website displays the relevant fees (USD per kg):
If your baggage allowance follows the piece concept, you can add additional items to your booking. The weight allowance for each additional piece is 23kg in Economy Class and Premium Economy, and 32kg in Business Class and First Class.
You will get a discount of 35% to 50% if you purchase additional items in advance, excluding travel to or from Canada. The more you purchase the greater the discount. These discounts are available online or at Emirates retail/contact centres up to 4 hours before flight departure. You can purchase up to five additional pieces of baggage on top of the standard allowance for your ticket. Below are the costs for purchasing additional bags at the airport:
Wizz Air:
Baggage Size Allowance:
Every Wizz Air passenger is allowed one small carry-on bag to fit underneath the seat in front of them. This should weight a maximum of 10kg and not exceed the measurements 40 x 30 x 20cm.
A larger cabin bag, or what Wizz Air call a Trolley Bag, does not come as standard. If you add Wizz Priority to your booking, you can take two pieces of luggage on board the plane. A trolley bag should not weigh more than 10kg and should fit remain the measurements of 55 x 40 x 23cm.
The size allowance does not include wheels, but these should not add more than 5cm onto the bag size.
Wizz Air has a selection of checked in baggage weights which are 10kg, 20kg, 26kg, or 32kg. You can have up to 6 checked bags per passenger. The dimensions should not exceed 149 x 119 x 171cm.
Overweight Baggage:
It costs EUR 13 per extra kilo of weight for overweight baggage at the airport.
Extra Baggage & Fees:
Purchasing Wizz Priority to benefit from being able to take a large cabin bag costs:
EUR 0 - EUR 60 online or via call centre
EUR 55 at the airport
Baggage fees for Wizz Air can be a little bit complex as they do not only measure their prices based upon destination & weight, but also the season you are travelling in. As reference for the below information, the high seasons are Easter, Summer, & Christmas.
Baggage Type | Online or via Wizz Air call centre | Airport |
10kg checked baggage - low seasons | EUR 11 - EUR 97 | - |
10 kg checked baggage - high season | EUR 13 - EUR 112.50 | - |
20kg checked baggage - low season | EUR 13 - EUR 114 | EUR 60 |
20kg checked baggage - high season | EUR 15.50 - EUR 129.50 | - |
26kg checked baggage - low season | EUR 18.50 - EUR 122 | EUR 90 |
26kg checked baggage - high season | EUR 23 - EUR 138 | - |
32kg checked baggage - low season | EUR 21.50 - EUR 130.50 | EUR 120 |
32kg checked baggage - high season | EUR 28.50 - EUR 146 | - |
Virgin Atlantic:
Baggage Size Allowance:
Every passenger travelling Economy (Light, Classic, & Delight) or Premium can take one carry-on bag with them, and this can be placed in the overhead locker. The maximum measurements for this bag should be 23 x 36 x 56cm. It should not weigh more than 10kg.
Those travelling in upper class can take two pieces of carry-on luggage weighing up to 12kg for one bag, or up to 16kg combined weight. So you could take a 12kg carry-on luggage and a small 4kg carry-on luggage as well.
You can take a small personal bag on board with you too that should be able to fit underneath the seat in front of you.
For checked in baggage, the rules are:
Economy Light passengers do not have checked baggage included in their package
Economy Classic & Delight passengers can take one checked item of luggage weighing up to 23kg and measuring up to 90 x 75 x 43cm.
Premium customers can take two pieces of checked luggage weighing up to 23kg each, measuring no more than 90 x 75 x 43cm.
Upper class customers can take two pieces of checked baggage weighing up to 32kg each and measuring no more than 90 x 75 x 43cm.
If you've reached the Flying Club Gold or Silver tier, you can check in an extra piece of baggage on all Virgin Atlantic flights for no extra charge (weighing up to 23kg). It doesn’t matter which cabin you’re flying in.
Overweight & Oversized Baggage:
For overweight baggage, the charge is £65 per bag. The charge for an overweight and oversized bag is £200.
Extra Baggage & Fees:
You can add up to an extra 7 bags per person when checking in online. You can pay for extra bags at the airport. The price is the same, but the limit is 10 bags per person.
No. of bags | Economy Light | Economy Classic & Delight | Premium | Upper Class |
1 | £65 | Included | Included | Included |
2 | £65 | £65 | Included | Included |
3 | £140 | £140 | £140 | £140 |
4 | £140 | £140 | £140 | £140 |
And there we go! That's all the baggage information for some of the most common airlines, along with all of their necessary fees. Some airlines have more rules than others, and some have more generous allowances and baggage sizes.
Whichever airline you are flying with, it is so important to know their baggage rules so you don't get caught out with extra fees when you arrive at the airport. I hope this post has helped you!
As an independent travel agent, I want to help you book your best holiday, trip, adventure, or holiday extra. Check out my website for more information on how this works, or contact me directly for more information at ellie.burnett@outlook.com.
