Heathrow luggage allowance: hand luggage, hold bag, and special items

Heathrow itself sets two rules on hand luggage. The airlines set everything else.

• Two pieces maximum per passenger through security: one cabin bag plus one personal item. A handbag with a laptop bag tucked inside counts as the personal item (one piece). Two laptop bags or two backpacks does not.
• Each bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm, including handles and wheels. The bag gauges at the security entrance enforce the dimensions; anything that does not fit the frame goes back to check-in for hold transit, even if it has cleared a gauge at another airport on the way out.

The 56x45x25cm dimension is the security ceiling, not the airline allowance. Most airlines cap their own cabin bag below it, particularly budget carriers and long-haul economy on the Asian and Gulf airlines. The bag that fit through security may still be too large for the overhead locker on an Embraer to Edinburgh or too heavy for an Emirates A380 cabin allowance. Always check the operating airline's published rule before flying. For the airline-to-terminal map (and the airline behind the codeshare on the ticket) see airlines flying from Heathrow.

The two-bag rule has been in force since the CT scanner rollout completed in January 2026. The same rule applies in the standard lane and in Fast Track at Heathrow; Fast Track buys a shorter queue, not a different bag allowance. The 2-litre liquid rule that determines what goes inside the cabin bag is covered separately on the 2 litre liquid allowance at Heathrow.

Airline cabin allowances at Heathrow split into four broad patterns. The named figures are typical at the time of writing and worth verifying with the carrier before flying.

British Airways and Iberia at Terminal 5

The most generous cabin allowance at Heathrow. BA passes the full Heathrow ceiling of 56x45x25cm for the cabin bag plus a 40x30x15cm personal item, with up to 23kgcombined across the two pieces. The 23kg figure applies across BA fare classes, from Euro Traveller through First. Iberia and Iberia Express at T5 follow a similar pattern as IAG group carriers.

Virgin Atlantic at Terminal 3

Cabin bag 56x36x23cm, weight 10kg in Economy, 12kg in Premium, 16kg (often split into two 8kg pieces) in Upper Class. Smaller than the Heathrow ceiling on the long dimension; a borderline-large case may need to be hold-checked.

Long-haul Asia, Gulf and SkyTeam carriers

Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, ANA, Air France, KLM, Korean Air and the broader Asia and SkyTeam set typically cap cabin weight at 7kg in economy, with dimensions around 55x38x20cm. Premium cabins (Business, First) get 10 to 14kg per piece, sometimes with two pieces allowed. The 7kg economy cap is the most-missed figure at Heathrow; many passengers arrive with a 10kg bag intended for a BA flight and find themselves at the Emirates gauge.

Budget short-haul

Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, Vueling and the budget set price cabin baggage separately. The free allowance is usually a small underseat bag only (around 40x20x25cm). A standard cabin bag (typically 55x40x20cm, 10kg) is a paid extra on most fares or comes free with priority boarding. The bag gauges at Heathrow are airline-side, not airport-wide; the gate-bag-check fee is real and substantial if caught.

For the live airline rule, the carrier's own baggage page is the canonical source. The brief pattern above is a guide to the shape of the variation, not a substitute for the airline's published allowance on the day.

Three categories worth knowing before packing the cabin bag:

• Liquids, pastes, gels and aerosols: up to 2 litres per container in cabin baggage since the CT scanner rollout completed on 24 January 2026. No clear plastic bag required; bottles can sit loose inside the cabin bag. Baby formula, sterilised water and expressed breast milk have their own exemptions. The full rules and the small list of exceptions sit on liquids in hand luggage rules at Heathrow.
• Laptops, tablets and other large electronics: stay in the bag for CT screening. The scanner sees through the case. Bring a power bank or spare batteries in the cabin bag too (see banned-items rule below).
• Power banks, spare lithium batteries, e-cigarettes and vapes: cabin baggage only, never in the hold. Most airlines cap power banks at 100Wh per unit (equivalent to about 27,000mAh at 3.7V); units between 100Wh and 160Wh need airline approval; anything above 160Wh is not permitted. Vapes and e-cigarettes can travel in the cabin but cannot be used or charged inside the terminal or on the aircraft.
• Small medical equipment (CPAP, BiPAP, nebulisers, sharps containers for insulin pens): allowed as additional cabin baggage on top of the standard two-piece allowance, with a doctor's letter or prescription as documentary proof. Notify the airline at booking if the device needs power in flight.

The hold-bag allowance is the airline's, not Heathrow's. Three patterns cover almost every Heathrow flight:

• Full-service economy: typically 23kg per piece, with one piece included on most long-haul fares and zero pieces on Basic and Light fares. BA World Traveller and Virgin Economy Classic both include one 23kg piece; BA Basic and Virgin Economy Light do not.
• Premium economy, Business, First: typically two pieces at 23kg in Premium Economy, two or three pieces at 32kg in Business and First. The piece weight ceiling lifts because each bag is over the standard threshold.
• Budget short-haul: zero pieces included, hold bag is a paid extra. Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz, Vueling and the rest price hold baggage at booking; on-the-day prices are several times higher.

The route matters as much as the cabin. Long-haul flights to North America often use the piece concept (one or two pieces of 23kg each, regardless of total weight). Long-haul to Asia, the Middle East and Africa often use the weight concept (a single total allowance of 30 or 40kg split across any number of bags, with a 23 to 32kg ceiling per individual bag). Short-haul Europe usually uses pieces. Heathrow itself does not enforce either system; the airline does, at check-in and bag drop.

The single fact most travellers do not know: bags heavier than 32kg are not accepted at all at most airlines, regardless of how much excess fee you offer to pay. The 32kg ceiling is a health-and-safety rule on the ground handler, not an airline pricing decision. A 35kg bag at the check-in scale has to be repacked into two bags or have items removed before it joins the flight; bag drop at Heathrow is not the place to discover this with five minutes to spare.

Two separate concepts that get conflated: overweight (a bag heavier than the included allowance, but under the 32kg ceiling) and oversized (a bag larger than the standard 158cm of combined length, width and height, but under the airline's outsize ceiling, typically 190cm).

Overweight fees

Airline-set and route-set. British Airways charges around £65per bag online for a heavy bag (23 to 32kg) on most long-haul routes; the same bag at the airport runs closer to £80. Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Qatar and the rest publish their own figures, broadly in the same range online and tighter at the airport. Pay at booking when possible; the gate price is the worst time to discover the gap.

Oversized items

Items above the standard 158cm but under the airline's outsize ceiling can be checked with an oversize fee. Notify the airline at least 90 minutes before departure for outsize bags; some airlines need 24 hours of notice for items above 190cm or unusually shaped pieces. Drop the oversize bag at the dedicated oversize desk after the main bag drop; signage at each terminal points to it.

Pay online, not at the desk

The pattern across every Heathrow carrier: the airline website price for an extra bag, a heavy bag, or an oversize fee is several times lower than the airport-counter price for the same thing. The gap is deliberate; the airline wants the decision made in advance. Add the bag through the airline's manage-my-booking page on the way to the airport if it might be a problem.

Most sports kit travels as a checked bag within the standard allowance, with an oversize fee if the dimensions are over 158cm. The most-asked categories:

• Skis and snowboards: typically count as one piece of checked baggage, bundled with one boot bag and one helmet bag at most airlines. Combined weight up to 23kg counts as a standard piece; over 23kg is an overweight fee.
• Bicycles: must be boxed or in a bike bag with the pedals removed, the handlebars turned, and the tyres deflated. Most airlines charge a flat sports-item fee; American Airlines specifically charges $80 per case (around £60) to or from London Heathrow for sports items.
• Golf clubs: usually allowed within the standard allowance on full-service carriers; a hard case is strongly recommended. Some airlines bundle the clubs and a separate shoes bag.
• Musical instruments: small ones (violin, flute, clarinet) can usually travel as cabin baggage within the two-bag rule. Medium ones (guitar, viola) may need a paid extra cabin seat; the instrument sits on the seat with its own seatbelt. Large ones (cello, double bass, drum kit) must be checked in a hard flight case and pay a sports-equipment or oversize fee.

Notify the airline at booking or at least 90 minutes before departure for outsize sports kit. The check-in agent cannot always slot a last-minute oversize item into the cargo hold layout.

Three categories travel on rules of their own:

• CPAP and similar medical devices: cabin baggage as additional carry-on on top of the standard two-piece allowance, with a doctor's letter or prescription. Notify the airline at booking; in-flight power requires advance arrangement on long-haul.
• Mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs: usually transported free of charge but require at least 48 hours of advance notice to the airline. The battery type (lithium-ion, dry cell, gel cell) determines whether it travels and what the disconnection procedure is. Assistance with mobility equipment at Heathrow covers the booking flow.
• Pushchairs and car seats: free on most airlines, typically taken to the gate door and returned planeside on arrival. The pushchair is tagged at check-in (or at the gate on some short-haul carriers) and does not count against the cabin allowance. Pushchair and car seat rules at Heathrow covers the airline-specific detail.

The full prohibited-items list sits on heathrow.com; the headline categories most travellers run into:

• Banned from the cabin (must go in the hold or not at all): blades over 6cm, scissors with blades over 6cm, large tools, sporting bats and clubs, knitting needles in some interpretations (check before flying), self-defence sprays.
• Banned from the hold (must travel in the cabin or not at all): power banks, spare lithium-ion batteries, e-cigarettes and vapes, electronic devices with lithium batteries if removable.
• Banned from both: explosives, fireworks, flares, compressed gas cylinders (with the exception of small medical oxygen), flammable liquids over the standard limit, corrosives, radioactive materials, firearms without an airline-approved licence and case, replica firearms.

The CAA's dangerous-goods rules underpin the airline policies; the airline page lists the specific carrier ban. For the live prohibited-items list, see Heathrow's security and baggage page.

Three distinct cases, three different routes:

• The bag did not arrive on the carousel: report it at the airline desk in the baggage reclaim hall before leaving the airport. The airline (not Heathrow) handles the trace and the home delivery. Heathrow baggage reclaim halls covers the desks by terminal and the documents to bring.
• An item was left somewhere inside the terminal: phone, jacket, document folder, anything not on the aircraft. Heathrow lost property is the right route; the airline cannot help with terminal-side losses.
• The bag is damaged: report at the same airline desk in baggage reclaim within 7 days of the flight. Take photos of the damage before leaving the carousel; some airlines insist on photographic evidence for the claim.

For a layover or a few hours between connections, where to store bags at Heathrow covers the left-luggage providers in each terminal. For inter-terminal connections where the bag is through-checked, the airline ground handler moves the bag and the passenger does not see it again until the final destination.