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Travelling is fun, adventurous and exciting. It fills you with thrill and refreshes your mind and body. You get to explore new places and learn about their culture, authentic food, language and tradition.
However, it’s all fun and attractive as long as you plan everything properly. Cleartrip ensures that you have the best travelling experiences with huge offers and discounts on flight and hotel bookings. It is your one-stop platform to collect all information about your destination and plan a memorable trip.
One of the most crucial parts of every traveller’s life is airport clearance. If you are on your first solo travel experience or first time travelling by air, it’s crucial to know everything about baggage rules. As a first-time traveller, you are unaware of what you can bring and how much weight you can carry on yourself. It can cause you to face difficulties at the airport. You might have to go through several security checks and even get rid of restricted items to board the flight. In worst cases, you might get delayed at security counters and miss your flight.
To ensure that you have a seamless travel experience, we have come up with a detailed FAQs list on baggage rules. This FAQs list will clear all your doubts and prepare you for your first experience in flight.
Every airline has its own set of baggage rules and restrictions when it comes to the weight limit. Mostly you carry all your things in your check-in baggage. Check-in baggage is the one that you hand over to the airport staff at the check-in counters while getting your boarding pass. They note the weight of your check-in baggage and then give you your boarding pass.
The weight limit of your check-in baggage depends on two factors. First is the destination you are travelling to. The weight limit for check-in baggage is different for domestic and international flights. Moreover, you have different weight limits for different international destinations too. The second is the number of luggage you are carrying.
In general, most airlines allow a maximum weight of 15 kgs per person in check-in baggage. These Airlines include Spicejet, Indigo, Go Air, Jet Airways and others. An exception, in this case, is Air India which allows a maximum check-in baggage weight of 25 kgs per person. For first and business class passengers, it’s 40 kgs and 35 kgs per person respectively.
If you are not carrying any cabin baggage, the staff can allow you weight relaxation of 1-2 kgs on your check-in luggage. However, this is not mentioned in the rules. It entirely depends on the airport staff.
For a more clear understanding of the weight limit on your first solo travelling experience, please refer to the table below:
Airline | Check-in Baggage Limit (Domestic Flights) | Allowed Weights |
JET AIRWAYS | ADULT/CHILD | 15 kg |
INDIGO | ADULT/CHILD | 15 kg |
GO AIR | ADULT/CHILD | 15 kg |
GoBusiness | ADULT/CHILD | 35 kg |
SPICEJET | ADULT/CHILD | 15 kg |
AIR INDIA | ADULT/CHILD | First – 40 kg, Executive – 35 kg, Economy – 15 kg |
JET KONNECT | ADULT/CHILD | 15 kg |
For international flights, the weight limit on check-in baggage depends on the country you are travelling to.
Most of the airlines to the USA allow a maximum of 23 kgs per bag per person. You can carry a maximum of 2 pieces of luggage with you.
To the rest of the world, you can carry 20-30 kgs per person with most of the airlines. Some airlines like Etihad and Turkish Airlines allow 30 kgs of luggage per passenger. In comparison, others like British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa and others allow 23 kgs of check-in baggage per person.
Have a look at the table below for precise weight limits on international flights across different airlines:
Check-in Baggage (International Flights) | ||
Airline | USA | Rest of the World |
AIR INDIA | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 20 kgs |
EMIRATES | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 30 kgs |
THAI AIRLINES | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 20 kgs |
JET AIRWAYS | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 28 kgs |
SINGAPORE AIRLINES | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 20 kgs |
LUFTHANSA | 1 piece, 23 kgs each | 1 piece, 23 kgs each |
MALAYSIA AIRLINES | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 20 kgs |
CATHAY PACIFIC | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 20 kgs |
BRITISH AIRWAYS | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 1 piece, 23 kgs |
AIR FRANCE | 1 piece, 23 kgs | 1 piece, 23 kgs |
KLM ROYAL DUTCH | 1 piece, 23 kgs | 1 piece, 23 kgs |
ETIHAD | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 30 kgs |
TURKISH AIRLINES | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 30 kgs |
VIRGIN ATLANTIC | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each | 2 pieces, 23 kgs each |
Cabin baggage is the baggage that you carry with you while boarding and deboarding the flight. Your cabin baggage is scanned through for security purposes during the security checks.
Usually, most airlines allow a maximum weight of 7 kgs for cabin or hand baggage per person. Moreover, your cabin baggage should be of dimension 115 cms (L+W+H). You should never carry large suitcases in cabin luggage as they will not fit in the flight baggage compartment. That is why a set dimension of the cabin baggage is mentioned in the baggage rules.
Other than the cabin baggage, you can carry a laptop bag weighing not more than 3 kgs. The same goes with ladies’ purses.
Most airlines allow only 7 kgs of hand baggage per person on international flights. However, some airlines like British Airways, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch allow up to 23 kgs and 12 kgs per person.
So, on your first experience in flight, ensure that your cabin bag does not exceed the mentioned weight and dimension. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to carry it as a cabin bag. The airport staff will ask you to submit the bag as check-in baggage. Moreover, if you have already full your check-in baggage limit, you will have to pay extra charges for this additional luggage.
If you are a young mother on your first trip, it doesn’t mean you have to leave your child behind. You can still have a memorable travelling experience with a toddler or infant.
Here are some of the things you should know for a hassle-free first experience in flight with your child.
You will have to book flight tickets for children above 2 years of age. Airlines do not have any weight limit restrictions for check-in luggage on children’s tickets. However, you can carry only 7 kgs of cabin baggage of dimension 115 cms.
If you are travelling with an infant (age less than 2 years), you do not have to book tickets. Moreover, you can carry one stroller or baby pram per infant without any extra charge.
Here are a few things that you should never carry in your cabin or check-in baggage. The list will help you get through the security checks without any difficulty and ease your first experience on a flight.
Be it your first solo travel experience or first-time trip by air, being up to date with the baggage rules and regulations is wise. It will not only help you have a hassle-free airport clearance as well as save your packing time. When you know how much and what you can carry, you can pack your things accordingly.
Check-in and cabin baggage weight limits are crucial to know beforehand so that you do not face any difficulty or have to pay extra charges at the airport.
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You can carry a maximum of 15 kgs per person on domestic flights and around 23-30 kgs per person on international flights. The weight limit on an international flight depends on the airline and the destination you are travelling to.
You can carry up to 7 kgs of cabin or hand baggage per person.
Your cabin baggage should be of dimension 115 cms (L+W+H).
Yes! You can carry your laptop in a laptop bag as cabin baggage. But its weight should not exceed 3 kgs.
Yes! You can carry all your toiletries and makeup items in your hand baggage. But each toiletry bottle should not be more than 100 ml.