Flights May Soon Have New Rules For Cabin Baggage

Central to the whole scheme is each aircraft’s ‘maximum takeoff mass’, the weight at which it can safely leave the ground. Weight is also a major factor in calculating its range and potential emergency landing sites

A significant reform aimed at streamlining air travel and enhancing security has been recommended by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. It suggests new rules for hand luggage on flights.

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 (CISF) are planning to enforce stricter regulations on hand luggage in view 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. Passengers may face additional fees or penalties if they disregard the new hand baggage rules.

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. 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 seven kg.

Air India limits the weight of the purse of business class passengers 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 to the rules.

Travellers, who have purchased their tickets before May 4, 2024, will be exempt from the updated handbag weight restrictions. Eight kg for economy travellers, ten kg for premium economy passengers, and twelve kg for first or business-class passengers are excluded.

Over the past several months, there has been a notable increase in the number of air passengers. The increase in demand for air travel is reflected by the fact that Indian airlines transported 1.42 crore passengers on domestic routes in November, which is about 12 per cent higher than during the same month the previous year.

Central to the whole scheme is each aircraft’s ‘maximum takeoff mass’, the weight at which it can safely leave the ground. This is specified by the manufacturer and must be strictly observed. Weight is also a major factor in working out how much fuel a plane should carry and in calculating its range and potential emergency landing sites.

As airlines don’t weigh every passenger or their hand luggage, a lot of averages are incorporated into those calculations. Over time, these need to be reviewed as society changes, especially given that public health data points towards a general increase in average body weight per person.

Lufthansa Consulting reported the average weight of male passengers as 82.5 kg and 67.5 kg for female passengers, adding that there was ‘no significant weight gain or loss observed for passengers in general’ since the previous survey in 2009.

Overall, it concluded that the mean value of all passengers is 76.3 kg, while the average carry-on weight is 7.7 kg. This has resulted in a mean passenger weight for adults plus their carry-on luggage as 84kg — in line with the existing regulation. The research will be repeated in five years’ time.

Eventually, it all comes down to the fact that certain planes are designed to be significantly lighter when landing than when taking off -- in some cases more than 200,000 pounds (90,909.1 kilograms) lighter [source: Boeing].

This may sound backwards; one might think that taking off at a heavy weight would necessarily be harder than landing with that same weight. But landing can put more stress on a plane. When a plane lands heavy, it's very easy to hit the ground too hard and cause damage to the aircraft. This problem usually takes care of itself, though.

During takeoff for a long flight, a large commercial plane can be carrying tens of thousands of gallons of fuel, which (about 6.7 pounds per gallon) can translate to hundreds of thousands of pounds of fuel. But, for a long flight, the plane will use and burn off the fuel, shedding those pounds along the way.

The manufacturers consider this while designing an aircraft, so by the time a plane reaches its destination it will be light enough to land safely.