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Flights may soon have new rules for cabin baggage: Report
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security proposes new hand baggage regulations for flights, limiting passengers to one cabin bag.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is planning new regulations for hand baggage on flights, marking a major change intended to simplify air travel and improve security, reports NDTV Profit.
According to the report, passengers would only be permitted to bring one handbag or cabin bag inside the aircraft.
The government is making this adjustment as part of its attempts to improve security and control the increasing number of travellers at airports in India and worldwide.
To enhance airport operations and ease traffic at security checks, BCAS and the Central Industrial Security Force are planning to enforce stricter regulations on hand luggage in light of the growing volume of air traffic. Under the new rules, passengers will no longer be allowed to bring more than one bag into the cabin. Now, every bag - aside from the assigned handbag - will have to be checked in.
Airlines such as IndiGo and Air India have revised their luggage policy to comply with the new regulations. Passengers in economy and premium economy classes on Air India are permitted to bring one handbag up to seven kilogrammes in weight. First—and business-class passengers can now bring 10 kilogrammes of hand luggage. Nonetheless, the bag's dimensions shouldn't exceed 40 cm for length, 20 cm for breadth, and 55 cm for height.
Travellers on IndiGo Airlines can bring one cabin bag, which must not exceed 115 cm in length and weigh no more than 7 kg. Additionally, travellers can bring one personal item, up to 3 kg in weight, such as a purse, compact laptop bag, or something similar. IndiGo customers are permitted to bring one cabin bag and one personal item. Airport congestion brought on by the rise in air travel, especially in India, has resulted in delays at security checks. Authorities want to cut down on delays, expedite the boarding procedure, and guarantee a more orderly cabin for both passengers and personnel by restricting the number of cabin luggage.
Passengers may face additional fees or penalties if they disregard the new hand baggage rules.
New baggage policy criteria:
- According to the updated baggage policy standards, travellers will be permitted to bring only one item of hand luggage on an aircraft. This regulation would apply to both domestic and foreign travellers, reports News18.
- Before boarding the aircraft, passengers would be required to check-in any excess baggage.
- Passengers flying in economy or premium economy class will be permitted to carry a handbag weighing no more than 7 kg.
- Air India stipulates that business class passengers' purse weight is limited to 10 kilos.
- Additionally, the rule addresses luggage volume in addition to weight and quantity. The dimensions of the luggage must not exceed 55 cm (21.6 inches) in height, 40 cm (15.7 inches) in length, and 20 cm (7.8 inches) in width, according the rules.
Who is not affected by updated luggage dimensions?
Travellers who purchased their tickets before May 4, 2024, will be exempt from the updated handbag weight restrictions. Eight kilograms for economy travellers, ten kilograms for premium economy passengers, and twelve kilogrammes for first or business-class passengers are excluded.
Over the past several months, there has been a notable increase in the number of passengers on airlines. Due to increased demand for air travel, Indian airlines transported 1.42 crore passengers on domestic routes in November, which is about 12% higher than during the same month the previous year.
According to the most recent data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), "the number of passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-November 2024 was 1,464.02 lakh as opposed to 1,382.34 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year, thereby registering an annual growth of 5.91 per cent and monthly growth of 11.90 per cent."
