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There are strict rules on items that you can bring into the aircraft. Articles that are too bulky or too heavy to fit in the overhead stowage bins or under the seat can injure other passengers if the aircraft encounters turbulence.
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Size and contents of baggage
| Limitations apply to baggage on all airlines. For the comfort and safety of all passengers it is necessary to limit the size and weight of your cabin baggage. Try not to pack more luggage than you can carry. The airline or your travel agent will have further details on baggage entitlements.
Pack all medication in your cabin baggage so it is available when you need it. There are some factors you need to take into account when you pack in your bags. Items in your baggage can be affected by things like temperature, pressure and vibration. |
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・Temperature can affect the contents of a package filled at low temperature. When the temperature increases, the package can expand in volume causing any liquid contents to leak, or burst packages with gaseous contents.
・Pressure varies from normal at sea level, to a lesser pressure of about only 2/3 of that at sea level. Reduction in pressure can result in liquid and gaseous contents bursting out of their containers. This can be very messy and very dangerous.
・Vibration experienced, not only by baggage, but the contents of the baggage, can result in a potentially dangerous situation. For example book matches and cigarette lighters subject to vibrations have been known to ignite while in suitcases, brief cases and even in pockets.
Don't leave luggage unattended or with someone you don't know. Don't carry baggage for other people. Pack your own bags. Keep them locked at all times. Unwary travellers have been conned into carrying and checking in baggage containing prohibited items.
Stowing Baggage
| Each airline has a similar carry-on baggage policy. There is a weight and size limitation for each passenger. This is based on stowage areas, aircraft weight limitations, fuel required, centre of gravity and balance required for take-off. Overloaded passengers have the ability to seriously compromise the convenience, comfort and safety of other passengers and the crew.
When using overhead lockers be aware of how you stow your baggage. For example, don't stack briefcases, place them upright and side by side. |
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This will allow others to fit their baggage in the locker, and will help prevent items from being dislodged. Baggage has been known to fall out of overhead compartments when the contents has shifted during a flight or if the compartments were overloaded.
Overhead storage bins may not be able to hold very heavy objects during turbulence. If you have trouble lifting an item into the bin, have it stored elsewhere. Remember that under-seat space is also limited.
In an accident, the more baggage on board, the greater the likelihood of baggage compartments spilling open, and the greater the chance of injury from flying objects. Evacuation times are slowed by baggage cluttering aisles.
Dangerous Goods
| Personal care items like toiletries and medicinal articles, even in aerosol containers, are permitted in restricted amounts. Check these items for hazardous symbols displayed on the container. If the item has one of these symbols you will need to decide if you really need to take it or if you can buy something suitable at your destination. Still unsure? Check the cover of your ticket to see if its listed as a prohibited or restricted dangerous good or contact the airline you are flying with. They have staff who are trained specifically to tell you what can and can't be carried. |
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Below are some incidents relating to everyday objects which were never meant to fly. There are dozens of combinations of everyday chemicals which have been known to destroy their surroundings.
・A muffled explosion in the luggage compartment sent an ear-popping noise through the cabin, blowing the back of the rear seat of the small twin engined aircraft forward. Pressurised to sea level, one or more of the 13 huge watermelons in the rear locker had succumbed to 'explosive decompression' and split open.
・Older first aid kits commonly contained Condy's crystals (potassium permanganate) and glycerine, until somebody found out the hard way that when these two substances are mixed together they burst into flames.
・A small aircraft was cruising up the coast at low level when it's occupants observed a thin stream of dense black smoke climbing the windscreen, apparently coming from the engine compartment. Fortunately there was a convenient stretch of firm beach to land on and evacuate. The smoke was found to be coming from the nose luggage locker, which flared to a fearsome blaze when the locker door was opened. The blaze was quickly extinguished with handfuls of beach sand. The aircraft had just been washed and polished. Somebody had left a plastic bucket full of polish-soaked rags in the locker, where spontaneous combustion had set them alight. The outcome could have been fatally different had the occupants been a little further from a convenient landing strip.
If you are still in any doubt about what can be taken on an aircraft, talk to your airline or travel agent. If you illegally take dangerous goods on board, even inadvertently, you may be liable for prosecution and a fine.