The term hand luggage or cabin baggage (normally called carry-on in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

) refers to the type of

luggage Baggage, or luggage, consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transport, transit. A modern tourist, traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, sma ...

that passengers are allowed to carry along in the passenger compartment of a vehicle instead of a separate cargo compartment. Passengers are allowed to carry a limited number of smaller bags with them in the vehicle, which typically contain valuables and items needed during the journey. There is normally storage space provided for hand luggage, either under seating, or in overhead lockers. Trains usually have luggage racks above the seats and may also (especially in the case of trains travelling longer distances) have luggage space between the backs of seats facing opposite directions, or in extra luggage racks, for example, at the ends of the

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

(train car in American English) near the doors.

Commercial air travel

Hand baggage allowance is a topic frequently discussed in the context of commercial air travel. On the one hand, passengers may want to have more of their possessions at hand during flight, skip the often time-consuming

baggage claim 200px, Baggage carousel In airport terminals, a baggage reclaim area is an area where arriving passengers claim checked-in baggage after disembarking from an airline flight. The alternative term baggage claim is used at airports in the US and ...

process, and avoid the risk of having their

checked baggage Checked baggage is luggage delivered to an airline or train for transportation in the Airliner#Baggage_hold, hold of an aircraft, storage on a coach bus or baggage car of a passenger train. Checked baggage is inaccessible to the passenger during ...

lost or damaged. On the other hand, safety concerns, takeoff weight limitations, and financial incentives (e.g. charging for checked bags) cause airlines to impose limits on how much and what passengers can take into the aircraft cabin. A large amount of hand luggage also slows the security screening of passengers, and can slow boarding as it takes longer to find space in cabin storage areas.

Retrieval during emergency evacuations

Studies have found that passengers often pause to retrieve cabin baggage during an

emergency evacuation Emergency evacuation is an immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property. Examples range from the small-scale evacuation of a building due to a storm ...

, despite instructions to the contrary in

pre-flight safety briefing A pre-flight safety briefing (also known as a pre-flight demonstration, in-flight safety briefing, in-flight safety demonstration, safety instructions, or simply the safety video) is a detailed explanation given before take-off to airline passenger ...

s. This is not a new phenomenon, as it was observed during the evacuation of a Boeing 737 that caught fire in 1984. At least one passenger re-entered a Boeing 777 that crashed in 2008 to retrieve personal belongings. Remote locking of overhead baggage bins is being considered as a solution to the issue. After

Aeroflot Flight 1492 Aeroflot Flight 1492 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Aeroflot from Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow–Sheremetyevo to Murmansk Airport, Murmansk, Russia. On 5 May 2019, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft operatin ...

, which crashed at

Sheremetyevo International Airport Sheremetyevo International Airport (, , Internal code: ШРМ) is one of four international airports that serve the city of Moscow. It is the busiest airport in Russia and the post-Soviet states, as well as the ninth-busiest airport in Euro ...

on 5 May 2019, killing 41 people, videos of the accident showed passengers evacuation with hand luggage. In their final report, the

Interstate Aviation Committee The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC; ) is an executive body of the Civil Aviation and Airspace Use Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and was formed in 1991 They report concluded that the retrieval of hand luggage resulted in a prolonging of the evacuation, which led to the passengers being exposed to high temperatures for longer periods of time, and that the severity of the accident partially increased due to this factor.

Allowances

The

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

(IATA) sets guidelines for cabin baggage/hand luggage/carry-on luggage size. As of 2022, the IATA recommends a maximum size of , including protuberances like wheels, handles, and pockets. The IATA guidelines are voluntary; the actual size and weight limits of cabin baggage imposed by airlines differ widely. In some cases they are dependent on the aircraft model being used, in other cases it depends on the booking class. † Dimensions are sometimes listed as "linear", meaning that when added together, height, width, and length are not to exceed a certain total number. * -

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

* -

Hainan Airlines Hainan Airlines is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. It is the largest civilian-run enterprise, civilian-run and majority State ownership, state-owned air transport company, making it the fourth-largest airline in terms of flee ...

Business class, first class passengers and holders of high level mileage club members are often allowed to carry on a second bag of a similar or smaller size and weight. On smaller sized aircraft, sometimes the hand baggage can be carried to the aircraft door, where it is collected by baggage handlers for stowing in the cargo area and returned to the passenger right after landing.

Security restrictions

Following the increase in restrictions imposed on flights from UK airports and to the US after the events of August

2006 transatlantic aircraft plot The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives, carried aboard airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada, disguised as soft drinks. The plot was discovered by British ...

, hand baggage on such flights was restricted to one cabin bag no bigger than effective since 15 August 2006. On 21 September 2006, the

British Airports Authority Heathrow Airport Holdings is a company that operates and manages Heathrow Airport based in London, England. It was formed by the privatisation of the British Airports Authority as BAA plc as part of Margaret Thatcher's privatisation of governme ...

advised that from the following day, the allowable size of the single item of hand baggage on outgoing flights from the UK would be increased to 56 cm × 45 cm × 25 cm (approx. 22 in × 17.75 in × 9.85 in), the IATA guideline size. Most UK airports still have a strict limit of one piece of cabin baggage per passenger, including business class.

European Union

Vending machine for carry-on luggage plastic bags at MUC

A common regulation for cabin baggage restrictions was introduced on 6 November 2006 in European Union and in Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. * Restrictions on liquids: ** only liquids with max 100 ml (3½ fl. oz.) per piece ** all pieces assembled in a single zippable plastic bag of max 1000ml (1 quart) ** the plastic resealable bag must not exceed ** maximum of 1 plastic bag per passenger ** liquids include gels and lotions (shampoo, tooth paste), lip sticks, moist paper tissue, contact lens solution ** Exceptions: *** prescribed medicine of any size, non-prescribed medicine-only items *** baby milk and other items for infants *** nutrition for diabetes diet * Restrictions on dangerous objects: ** Firearms (including imitation firearms) and other projectile weapons (e.g. bows, crossbows) ** sharp objects, even small ones, including dart arrows and

razor blade A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since before ...

s *** The recommendation allows for light knives and scissors with blades up to but some countries do not accept these either (e.g. nail care items) ** blunt objects, clubs and all larger sticks, including sports utilities (e.g. skateboard) ** inflammable objects, including ethanol, alcoholic beverage above 70%, some match sticks ** toxic chemicals, including pepper spray, liquid batteries, blood samples

United States

The United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has introduced a series of restrictions effective since 26 September 2006 under the name "3:1:1" for liquids. * Restrictions on liquids: ** 3.4 ounce or smaller of containers for liquids and gels (100 ml) ** 1 quart-size clear plastic zip-top bag holding the liquid contents (approx. 950 ml) ** 1 bag per traveler shown openly in the security bin ** the TSA guidelines explicitly ''accept'' the metricized portions of 100 ml / 1 liter as defined later in the European Union ** the list of exceptions for liquids (baby milk, diabetes diet) is identical to EU guidelines. The TSA has additional restrictions for security searches: for example, the baggage should not be locked (except with a special

luggage lock A luggage lock is a lock used to prevent luggage from opening by accident, usually with little or no security in mind, although the lock may serve as a deterrent to potential thieves. Luggage locks may be built into luggage or may be external l ...

s that TSA staff can open), gifts should not be wrapped, and shoes may be required to be taken off during body search with the metal detector. Food items in the luggage may be mistaken for dangerous material triggering an intensive search.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand Luggage Luggage