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Checked baggage isluggage delivered to anairline ortrain for transportation in thehold of anaircraft, storage on acoach bus or baggage car of apassenger train. Checked baggage is inaccessible to the passenger during the flight or ride, as opposed tocarry-on baggage.
This baggage is limited by airlines with regard to size, weight, and number, usually dependent upon the fare paid, or class of ticket. Baggage exceeding the limits is regarded asexcess baggage.
Every airline has its own policies with regard tobaggage allowance. Often the policy is also dependent on where the flight goes to or comes from. Tickets executed by multiple airlines may have different rules. Usually the exact conditions of a specific booking are mentioned in the ticket information online.
Onshort-haul internal flights in the US and Canada, with some exceptions,[a] checked baggage is no longer complimentary with most discountedeconomy tickets, and must be paid for in addition to the ticket price; a passenger generally has to hold a higher or full fare economy ticket, travel in a premium cabin, hold elite status on an airline, or an airline credit card to be afforded complimentary checked baggage. Forlong-haul and transoceanic flights, checked baggage is included as standard.
Low-cost carriers such asRyanair in Europe andAirAsia in Asia charge for checked baggage, whilst for full-service airlines the cost is included in the ticket price.[2][3] Beginning with flights booked on or after May 28, 2025, Southwest Airlines ended its long-standing policy of allowing two free checked bags for most passengers. The airline now charges $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second.[4]
According to the rules of most air transportation authorities, such as theU.S.Federal Aviation Administration andEuropean Union'sJoint Aviation Authorities, should passengers flying internationally with checked baggage fail to arrive at the departure gate before the flight is closed, that person's baggage must be retrieved from the aircraft hold before the flight is permitted to take off. For Singapore, passengers with prohibited items are required to take it out from the bags retrieved at the check-in counter, failing which the baggage will be flagged with prohibited items and will be dumped away before boarding. In the United States, this does not apply to domestic flights since all bags are required to go through explosive detection machines (EDS) prior to loading. Making sure passengers board flights onto which they have checked baggage is called "passenger-baggage reconciliation" and is accomplished automatically through two commercially available systems.[5] The security presumption of passenger-baggage reconciliation is that terrorists will not want to kill themselves, and will not board an aircraft if they have caused a bomb to be placed in its hold. This presumption does not hold true ofsuicide bombers.
Unaccompanied suitcases led to the downing of four flights, when a bomb inside the suitcase exploded:
Spare lithium-ion batteries, inclusive of battery packs and powerbanks are not allowed on checked-in luggage.
Excess baggage refers to the amount of baggage that is in excess of the free allowance in size, number, or weight permitted for the journey. At the carrier's discretion, this may be carried at an extra charge, but no guarantee is made and it may have to be sent asfreight instead. Some airlines impose excess baggage embargoes on certain (usually smaller) routes, indicating that they will accept no (or very little) excess baggage.