What's Allowed And What's Not Allowed In Airplane Item in Baggages Carry -on or Checked Rules About Baggage Lost what we Do before Reach airport

What You Are Not Allowed to Take on an Airplane

Because of the Evolving security threats to aviation, most countries have many restrictions on what you can carry on an airplane, and other security restrictions that affect your air travel experience. However, if you take some time to get familiar with the basic security rules, and to understand what items are not allowed, you'll probably avoid unnecessary stress when you travel by air.

Most of the information in this guide is based on the requirements and restrictions of the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Each country has different security requirements, but much of the information will be similar for air travel throughout the world.

The following general baggage restrictions are covered on this page:

Items That Are Completely Banned

The following items are completely banned from aircraft, and should not be brought to the airport:

Explosive and Incendiary Materials: Gunpowder (including black powder and percussion caps), dynamite, blasting caps, fireworks, flares, plastic explosives, grenades, replicas of incendiary devices, and replicas of plastic explosives.

Flammable Items: Gasoline, gas torches, lighter fluid, cooking fuel, other types of flammable liquid fuel, flammable paints, paint thinner, turpentine, aerosols (exceptions for personal care items, toiletries, or medically related items).

Gases and Pressure Containers: Aerosols (with the exception of personal care items or toiletries in limited quantities in containers sized three ounces or smaller), carbon dioxide cartridges, oxygen tanks (scuba or medical), mace, tear gas, pepper spray, self-inflating rafts, and deeply refrigerated gases such as liquid nitrogen.

Matches: All matches are banned from checked baggage, and strike-anywhere matches are banned completely from aircraft, but you can have a single book of safety (non-strike anywhere) matches with you in the passenger cabin.

Oxidizers and Organic Peroxides: Bleach, nitric acid, fertilizers, swimming pool or spa chemicals, and fiberglass repair kits.

Poisons: Weed killers, pesticides, insecticides, rodent poisons, arsenic, and cyanides.

Infectious Materials: Medical laboratory specimens, viral organisms, and bacterial cultures.

Corrosives: Drain cleaners, car batteries, wet cell batteries, acids, alkalis, lye, and mercury.
Organics: Fiberglass resins, peroxides.

Radioactive Materials: There are some exceptions for implanted radioactive medical devices. Contact your airline for details on how to ship other radioactive materials.

Magnetic Materials: Strong magnets such as those in some loudspeakers and laboratory equipment.

Other Dangerous Items: Tear gas, spay paint, swimming pool or spa chlorine, and torch lighters.

Note: If you are in any doubt about whether your item may be hazardous, you should bring it to the attention of either your airline or the security screener.

Items Allowed Only in Checked Baggage
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has prohibited the following items from airplane cabins and carry-on baggage but may (with some exceptions) be carried as checked baggage:

Sporting Goods: Bats (baseball, softball, cricket), hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, bows and arrows, ski poles and spear guns golf clubs, and pool cues.

Knives: Knives of any length, composition or description (except for plastic or round bladed butter knives), swords, machetes, and martial arts weapons such as throwing stars.

Cutting Instruments: Carpet knives and box cutters (and spare blades), any device with a folding or retractable blade, ice picks, straight razors, and metal scissors with pointed tips, are only allowed in checked baggage. Small scissors with a cutting edge less than four inches (10 cm) are allowed in the cabin.

Firearms: Pistols, flare guns, BB guns, rifles, and other firearms must be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided container, and declared to the airline at check-in. There are limited exceptions to the firearms and ammunition rules for law enforcement officers. In the United States, federal laws apply to aircraft and to the secure areas of the airport such as the gate areas. State or local laws concerning the carrying of concealed or unconcealed weapons do not apply. Attempting to enter the secure area of the terminal with weapons, even accidentally, may lead to your arrest.

Firearm Replicas: Realistic replicas of firearms must be carried as checked baggage. Toy weapons that are not realistic are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage.

Firearm Parts: They should be treated like firearms and only carried in checked baggage.

Ammunition: In the US, small arms ammunitions for personal use must also be declared to the airline at check-in, and must be securely packed in fiber, wood or metal boxes or other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. Ammunition, if properly packaged, can also be carried in the same hard-sided case as an unloaded firearm. You should check with the airline to see if it has additional restrictions on either firearms or ammunition.

Paintball Guns: Compressed air guns, including paintball guns, may be carried in checked luggage without the compressed air cylinder attached. Compressed gas cylinders are not allowed on aircraft.

Tools: Tools greater than seven inches in length can only be carried as checked baggage. Also, power tools such as drills should also be in checked baggage. Shorter tools, such as wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers, may be carried in carry-on baggage. Any tool with a sharp or cutting edge like a hand saw, box cutter, or drill bit are also limited to checked baggage. If you have a toolbox in checked baggage, make sure you check every compartment to make sure that your toolbox does not have any containers with flammable liquids, utility lighters, micro torches, or other banned items. Larger equipment like a step ladder or circular saw should be checked.

Dry Ice (frozen carbon dioxide): Up to four pounds (1.8 kg) may be carried on board for packing perishables providing the package is vented.


Items That Are Allowed in Carry-on Bags and the Passenger Cabin

There are a number of items that could be considered hazardous or dangerous that are actually allowed in the passenger cabin, including your carry-on baggage:

Small Hand Tools: Most hand tools that are less than seven inches (18 cm) in length and that don't have sharp cutting edges can be taken into the passenger cabin. This would include tools like wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers.

Matches and Lighters: You can have a single book of safety (non-strike anywhere) matches with you in the passenger cabin, either on your person or in your carry-on baggage. You can have a common lighter with you on your person or in your carry-on baggage. In the US, lighters with fuel are prohibited in checked baggage, unless they adhere to the Department of Transportation (DOT) exemption, which allows up to two fueled lighters if properly enclosed in a DOT approved case.

Things You Should Never Put in Checked Baggage

There are many items that are not hazardous or prohibited that you can carry either in checked baggage, in carry-on baggage, or on your person. However, if it is an item that is hard to replace, very expensive, or necessary for your health and well being, then you should never put it in checked baggage:

Money Related Items: Cash, credit cards, travelers checks, blank checkbooks, securities, and anything else that has monetary value or should either be on your person or in your carry-on baggage. If you lose money-related items in your checked baggage, airlines are not obligated to compensate you.

Jewelry: Necklaces, rings, diamonds, other precious stones, gold, silver, other precious metals, expensive watches, and other small and valuable items like these should also stay out of checked baggage. Like the situation with money, the airline isn't obligated to compensate you for the loss.

Laptops and Electronic Devices: Laptops, cell phones, and other small personal electronic devices should remain on your person or in your carry-on bags.

Medically Related Items: Prescription medication, other medications, and other medical items should remain with you in the cabin.

Other Items: If it is small and valuable, or if replacing it would be difficult or expensive, then keep it with you in the cabin. Examples include passports and other identification, keys, eyeglasses, photos, exposed film, tickets, art, boarding passes, travel vouchers, mail, financial records, business documents, manuscripts, heirlooms, collectible items, favorite toys, portable data storage devices like flash drives, and software. If you have something else that is small and that you don't want to lose, keep it with you.

Last Minute Bag Check: Sometimes on full or nearly full flights, the airplane may run out of room, and you may be forced to check your carry-on bag at the gate. You should pack your carry-on bag in a manner so that if it must be gate-checked, you can quickly remove the fragile, valuable and critical items and have them in a smaller bag that you can fit under a seat.

Restrictions on Liquids, Gels, and Aerosols in Carry On Baggage

On 10 August 2006, authorities in the United Kingdom uncovered an alleged plot to sabotage as many as 10 US airliners traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States, reportedly by using liquid and gel based explosives. Since then, the US and most other countries have restricted what liquids and gels a passenger may have in the passenger cabin: In the US, the general TSA restrictions are as follows:

Passengers may bring into the secure area of the airport liquid and gel products, so long as each individual container has a capacity of no greater than 3.4 fluid ounces (100 ml), and all of these small containers can fit in quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. The TSA suggestion for a zip-top is a loose requirement. If you only have a few small containers, you don't need an additional zip-top bag.

Snow globes and similar liquid-filled decorations, no matter what size, can only be carried in checked luggage.

Passengers may not pass through the security screening with gel or beverage containers of greater capacity unless they fall under one of the exemptions described below.

Note: Once a passenger has passed through security screening, they can purchase any size beverage and other liquid or gel products in the terminal and take them on to the plane.
Exemptions for Liquids, Gels and Aerosols

All prescriptiond rugs and over-the-counter medications including insulin and other diabetes related supplies, petroleum jelly, K-Y jelly, eye drops, and saline solution.

Liquids including water, juice, or liquid nutrition or gels for passengers with a disability or medical condition.

Life-support and life-sustaining liquids such as bone marrow, blood products, and transplant organs.

Items used to augment the body for medical or cosmetic reasons such as mastectomy products, prosthetic breasts, bras or shells containing gels, saline solution, or other liquids.

Frozen gels or liquids are permitted if required to cool medical and infant/child exemptions. Ice is permitted as long as there is no melted liquid present.

Baby formula, breast milk, juice or water for a traveling infant small child.
Breast milk is in the same category as liquid medications. A mother flying without her child should be able to bring breast milk through the checkpoint, provided it is declared prior to screening.

If you have liquids, aerosols, or gels the meet these exceptions, they can be in containers larger than 3.4 fluid ounces (100 ml), and do not have to be inside of a quart sized plastic bag, but do have to be declared at the security checkpoint.

Once past the security checkpoint, you are free to buy liquid gel products of any size within the secure areas of the airport terminal and take them on board.

Note: Solid cosmetics and personal hygiene items such as lipstick in a tube, solid deodorant, lip balm and similar solids are allowed. Please remember these items must be solid and not in liquid, gel or aerosol form.

Special Rules on Batteries
The FAA allows passengers to carry most consumer batteries and personal battery-powered devices. Spare batteries must be protected from damage and short circuiting. Battery-powered devices also should be protected from accidental activation. Some batteries have further restrictions, and those are summarized below, and you can find more details in an FAA brochure on the subject.

Batteries Allowed Only in Carry On Baggage

Common dry cell alkaline batteries such as AA, AAA, C, D, 9-volt, and button sized cells.
Dry cell rechargeable batteries such as Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Nickel Cadmium (NiCad).

Small, rechargeable lithium ion batteries of the types commonly used in a cell phone, PDA, camera, camcorder, handheld video game, or standard laptop computers.

Small, non-rechargeable lithium metal batteries commonly used with cameras and other small personal electronics.

Batteries Allowed in Checked Baggage Except for spare (uninstalled) lithium batteries, all the batteries allowed in carry on baggage are also allowed in checked baggage. Batteries in checked luggage must be protected from damage and short circuiting, or installed in a device. Battery-powered devices, particularly those with moving parts or those that could heat up, should be protected from accidental activation.

Exceptions for Duty Free Items
If you are traveling internationally, you should take extra steps to keep your duty free liquids, gels, or aerosols from being confiscated.

Baggage Basics for Checked and Carry-on Items

Only the rare passenger flies without carrying at least one piece of carry-on baggage, and many have to check one or more pieces of luggage as well. While there is always the risk of having items lost, misplaced, stolen, or damaged, many of the common risks can be reduced, avoided, or eliminated with a little bit of planning.
The following pieces of advice provide some basic information on how to deal with many of the more common baggage related issues.
There are also links to additional resources on baggage risks and advice on how to file a complaint with your airline or with the TSA.

General Baggage Advice There are only a few basic things to always avoid when it comes to either carry-on bags or checked luggage, mostly having to do with prohibited items. There are the obvious items that you should never pack such as illegal drugs or explosive devices.

In order to ensure safety of the aircraft and passengers as well as the convenience of fellow passengers, only one piece of cabin baggage of specified dimensions can be carried in the cabin. The sum of three dimensions should not exceed 45 inches for Jet Aircraft & 34 inches for other aircrafts.
In addition to one piece of cabin baggage or package, you may also be permitted to carry the following items, subject to Security Regulations:
.Lady's hand bag.
.An overcoat or wrap.
.A rug or a blanket
.A camera or a pair or binoculars
.Reasonable amount of reading material for the flight.
.Infant's feed for consumption during the flight and infant's carrying basket if an infant is carried.
.Collapsible wheelchair or pair of crutches or braces for passenger's use if dependent on these.
.A gift item purchased from the Airport duty free shop.
.Walking stick.
.Umbrella (Folding type)
.Feeding bottle.
.Shaving kit, excluding razor blade and straight razors.
.Medicines required during Flight like Asthma inhaler etc.
.Laptops.
.Cell phones.


Baggage Limits In general, airlines allow you to bring without additional charge up to two pieces of carry-on baggage (one of which can fit under your seat), plus some additional items such as umbrellas, and baby strollers. Additional baggage may cost you extra.
Typically, you have to check in at least 30 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights in order to ensure that your checked luggage ends up on your airplane. Your airline may have more restrictive rules on check in time, especially for international flights.

When in doubt, contact your airline for its specific baggage policies. Other Carry-on luggage advice
Reducing Checked Luggage RisksAny time that you fly with checked luggage, you run the risk of having individual items or even the entire bag stolen, lost, damaged, or delayed. Statistics supplied by the US Department of Transportation imply that a passenger who checks luggage has about a 2% chance of having this problem on a typical round trip. For the average traveler, this means that having a checked bag lost, delayed, stolen, or damaged will be more than a once in a lifetime experience.

In order to reduce or eliminate many checked luggage risks, you should consider doing the following:
Only use carry-on bags - Avoiding checked luggage reduces the time spent at the airport and also reduces the chance that your belongings are lost, stolen, or damaged.

Eliminate potential luggage snags - Since checked luggage usually goes though some kind of mechanical conveyor system, you should also remove straps or other protrusions that could get caught in the system.

Make your checked bags easy to inspect - In the US, the TSA has to be able to inspect a checked bag, so your bag should remain unlocked. There are exceptions to this rule. The TSA works with some lock manufacturers to provide screeners with keys for some models of locks.

Make sure that your checked is bag easy to identify - To reduce the chance of someone accidentally taking your bag from the baggage claim area, place an identification tag of some kind on each piece of checked luggage. Make sure that your contact information is also on each one of these tags. You may also want to use small ribbons, stickers, or other identifying marks on the bag to make it easier to spot.

Check the airline luggage tags -At check in, make sure that tags that the gate agent attaches to each piece of checked luggage matches your baggage claim tickets. Also, ensure that you and your bag are going to the same destination airport.

Put valuables and critical items in your carry-on bags - Cash, financial documents, jewelry, cameras, cell phones, portable electronic devices, and other valuables should be kept on your person or in your carry-on bags. Other kinds of critical or difficult to replace items that should be in your carry-ons include things like prescription drugs, other medical items, eyeglasses, keys, passports, travel vouchers, business papers, manuscripts, heirlooms, or favorite toys. While the airline may compensate you for the loss of some items, they will not compensate you for the loss of some kinds of valuables such as money and jewelry.

Keep fragile items out of checked luggage - Such items should be in your carry-on bags. Even a properly packed fragile item may be at risk in your checked luggage if that item has to be unwrapped in order to be inspected.

Keep camera film out of checked bags - in the US, the equipment used to scan checked bags may damage unexposed film. According to the TSA, film that goes through the x-ray screening device for carry-on items should be safe. However, you may want to request a hand inspection of any bag carrying film since multiple passes through even these x-ray machines may damage undeveloped film.
Prepare for a lost, stolen, damaged, or delayed checked bag - Pack your carry-on bags so that you will be able to survive for 48 hours at your destination without your checked bags. If you are checking more than one piece of luggage, distribute items so that the loss of one bag will not cause undue hardship. Checked bags that are delayed usually arrive within a day or so. Be prepared to keep a record of any costs related to your delayed or missing bag, or to any damage to the bag or contents so that you can later submit a claim to the airline or to the TSA.

Check your bags after arrival - Go through your checked luggage after arrival to see if anything is damaged or missing, or if extra items were placed in the bag. If there is a problem, make sure you contact your airline as soon as possible.

Laptop Advice
Laptop security is of particular concern to travelers because in the US you are required to remove the laptop from its carrying case for inspection. This exposes the laptop to increased risks from damage and especially from theft. In order to reduce the risks that you face, you should consider doing the following:

Keep the laptop with your carry-on baggage - Laptops are relatively fragile, as well as being an attractive target for theft. Keeping it with you on the plane is preferable to packing it in your checked luggage.

Be prepared to take it out for inspection - In the US and in some other countries, your laptop must be taken out of its bag or carrying case before it is passed through an x-ray scanner.
Separate the data from the laptop - For most users, the information on a laptop is far more valuable than the laptop itself. One easy way to protect against the loss of data is to keep any key data separate from the laptop in a device such as a flash drive, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
Secure the laptop with passwords - If you are unwilling or unable to separate the data from the laptop, at least put some kind of password protection on the laptop or on individual files or directories within the laptop.

Use alternative electronic devices - PDAs, handheld computers, and other data related devices are not required to be taken out of your carry-on bag, so if you can use an alternative to a laptop, this will reduce the likelihood of damage or theft.

Keep the laptop in sight - You may be delayed getting through the metal detector or you may be pulled aside for additional screening. If this happens, make sure you keep your laptop in sight. If you are traveling in a group, one thing that you can do is to have the first person through security be the person who takes care of all the laptops.

Compensation for Lost Baggage Should any of your luggage be lost, delayed, stolen, or damaged, you will very likely be eligible for some kind of compensation from either the airline or from the TSA. For example, on US domestic flights, there is a $3,300 compensation limit per passenger. Updated compensation limits and related information about lost and damaged baggage is available from the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov.

Compensation for domestic flights in other countries will depend on the laws and the civil aviation regulations in that country. On international flights, compensation limits are set in most cases by the Montreal Convention, an international agreement that has been signed by the US, Canada, and many other countries. Compensation varies as the value of world currencies change, and on a formula based on what the agreement calls Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

Baggage compensation is limited to 1,000 SDRs. The value of an SDR changes regularly, but you can estimate the maximum value of a claim by checking the latest SDR value. This limit is associated with baggage that is destroyed as well as baggage that has been lost or damaged, or where the return of baggage has been delayed.