Passengers travelling through Australian airports should expect to have their carry-on bags weighed at various points in their journey, including at the check-in desk and the boarding gate, to ensure compliance with the 7kg limit, according to news.com.au.
Passengers with bags weighing more than 7kg will have to store it in the cargo hold with other checked luggage. Both Virgin Australia and Qantas will start implementation from Monday, December 17.
Virgin Australia said it was enforcing the rules as increasingly heavy carry-on bags were causing disruptions.
“As an industry, we’re seeing many passengers trying to bring everything but the kitchen sink on domestic flights, which is causing flight delays as well as safety issues for cabin crew, ground crew and passengers,” Virgin Australia gm of ground operations, Paul Woosnam, said in a statement to news.com.au.
Virgin Australia offers a baggage allowance of up to 30kg for each passenger – a 23kg checked bag, plus 7kg of carry-on baggage. Passengers can also board with laptop bags, handbags or suit bags in addition to the 7kg limit, while Qantas passengers can board with a maximum of two carry-on baggage pieces, neither of which can be over 7kg.
Australia’s budget airlines have also begun weighing passengers’ carry-on baggage before boarding. The current cabin baggage limit for Tigerair is 7kg per customer, with the option of upgrading to cabin+, which allows up to 12kg of cabin baggage. Jetstar allows 7kg of carry-on luggage for Economy Starter, Starter Plus and Starter Max passengers, who can pay to top up their allowance with an extra 3kg.
