Carry-on baggage and power banks on flights in 2026: sizes, weight and new ICAO rules

If you haven’t checked your airline’s rules in the past six months, do it now. Since 2025, rules have changed on power banks, carry-on dimensions, and gate-side weigh-ins. A bag you’ve been flying with for ten years might now cost you extra.

All dimensions in the table are with wheels, handles, telescopic handles, and stuffed outer pockets included. At the check-in desk, bags go into a sizing frame – if it doesn’t fit, you pay the checked baggage fee. On Norwegian Air and Pegasus, the cheapest fares (LowFare and Light Package) don’t include a cabin bag at all – just an under-seat bag. The 55×40×23 cm cabin bag only comes with a higher fare.

Power banks in 2026

Power banks have always been banned from checked luggage. In 2025-2026, two new restrictions were added: you can’t use them on board, and you can’t store them in the overhead bin either. Airlines that have introduced this ban include Lufthansa and its subsidiaries, Emirates, Delta, Southwest, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, ANA, JAL, AirAsia, VietJet, Qantas, IndiGo, and Indonesian carriers Lion Air and Citilink.

These bans followed two fires. On January 28, 2025, an Airbus A321 operated by Air Busan caught fire at Gimhae Airport in South Korea – the blaze started in the tail section, reportedly from a lithium battery, and 27 people were injured during evacuation. In October 2025, a power bank ignited in the overhead bin on Air China flight CA139. After that, United Airlines became the first US carrier to ban power banks from overhead bins.

ICAO approved an amendment: from March 27, 2026, passengers may carry no more than 2 power banks, and charging on board is prohibited. Airlines are rolling this out at different speeds and often adding their own rules on top – specific dates and limits by carrier are in the table below.

What’s allowed and what’s banned – by airline

Keep your power bank in the seat pocket in front of you or at your feet – somewhere you can see it. Storing it in the overhead bin is banned on nearly every airline.

Before the doors close, flight attendants walk the cabin and ask passengers to remove power banks from the overhead bins. If someone doesn’t respond, the bank gets taken and held in a crew compartment for the rest of the flight.

NikoBoeing 777 pilot, explores cities during layovers

What to pack in your carry-on

Always carry-on only

• Documents – passport, visas, travel insurance, tickets, hotel confirmations. Never check these.
• Money and cards – cash, bank cards, wallet.
• Laptop and tablet – lithium batteries in devices are banned from checked luggage, same as power banks.
• Phone and charging cable – keep them together.
• Power bank – carry-on only. If it’s found in a checked bag at the scanner, the bag gets opened and the battery removed.
• Medication – especially prescription drugs, insulin, inhalers. Bring enough for the full flight plus a delay. Injectable medications require a doctor’s note in English.
• Glasses and contact lenses – if your luggage gets lost, you won’t be able to read your passport or the signs without them.
• House keys – if you’re flying home on a direct flight.

Worth putting in your carry-on

• A change of clothes for one day – in case your checked bag is delayed. Underwear and a t-shirt take almost no space.
• Noise-cancelling headphones – on a long flight the difference from regular ones is real; engine noise wears you down more than you’d expect.
• Liquids under 100 ml – moisturizer, toothpaste, deodorant. All in a clear 1-litre zip bag, one per passenger. This rule applies in the EU, US, UK, Canada, Australia, and most major Asian airports.
• A scarf or light sweater – planes get cold, especially on overnight flights. Blankets aren’t always provided.
• A snack – on long layovers or if your flight is delayed, airport food runs 2-3 times what you’d pay outside.
• A USB wall adapter – for charging from an outlet at the airport or on the plane. No restrictions apply to these, unlike power banks.

What won’t make it through security

• Sharp objects – knives, scissors with blades longer than 6 cm, open-blade razors
• Liquids over 100 ml – even if the container is only half full
• Lighters and matches – banned from carry-on in many countries
• Aerosols – a spray deodorant under 100 ml is fine, but camping gas canisters and self-defense sprays are not
• Lithium batteries above 160 Wh in any form

Budget carriers

On European budget airlines, the only free carry-on is a small under-seat bag. A cabin bag always costs extra – either a paid priority package or a higher fare tier. Buying it online at the time of booking runs 3-5 times cheaper than paying at the gate.

Ryanair‘s basic fare includes only a 40×20×25 cm under-seat bag. A 55×40×20 cm cabin bag up to 10 kg is included in the Priority package, priced from €6 to €20 when bought in advance. At the gate, the same option costs €40-60.

easyJet allows a free 45×36×20 cm under-seat bag. A larger 56×45×25 cm cabin bag up to 15 kg is available on FLEXI and Standard Plus fares, or when selecting seats in the front rows. As a standalone add-on, it costs €6-30.

Wizz Air‘s basic fare includes a 40×30×20 cm bag. A 55×40×23 cm cabin bag up to 10 kg comes with the WIZZ Priority package, from €8 when bought in advance, up to €35 at the gate.

Vueling‘s free allowance is a 40×20×30 cm bag. A 55×40×20 cm cabin bag up to 10 kg is included in Optima, TimeFlies, and Family fares, or as an add-on from €9.

A standard 55×40×20 cm cabin bag is not free on any of these four carriers’ basic fares. The sizing frame goes up at the gate on nearly every flight, and fees there are charged at the top rate. When you compare fares, add the cabin-bag fee to the base price – on these carriers it often changes which ticket is actually the cheapest.

On European budget carriers, the sizing frame at the gate is a regular fixture. Every week I see passengers with a standard 55×40×20 cm cabin bag paying for priority right there at the gate – at the gate rate, not the online price.

NadiaFlight attendant, writing about life at altitude

How to pack your carry-on

• Documents and valuables in a separate outer pocket. At security you’ll need to pull out your laptop, tablet, liquids bag, and sometimes your shoes. If everything is in one compartment, that takes time when you’re rushing.
• Power bank in a pocket you can reach in flight. Not the overhead bin, not the bottom of your backpack. If a flight attendant asks you to show it, you should be able to grab it immediately.
• Weigh your bag at home. In 2025-2026, carry-on weight is being checked more often – at the gate as well as check-in. 10 kg adds up fast: laptop 1.5-2 kg, power bank 300-500 g, water bottle 0.5 kg, spare shoes 0.5-1 kg.
• Liquids in a clear zip bag at the top of your backpack. So you don’t have to unpack everything at the security tray.