2025 Update: European Airline Carry On Sizes
Mar 03, 2022
Let’s face it, most European airlines are pretty, pretty stingy when it comes to their carry on size restrictions.
That's why we designed our Carry-on bag and Daily bag to comply with nearly all European carriers – as well as more generous American ones.
As the years pass, it feels increasingly like airlines are trying to squeeze every last euro out of passengers. Which leads us to a very important point: before flying anywhere in Europe, or flying to Europe from another region, you should always check European carry on size and weight allowances.
The latest European carry-on size and weight allowances
Sorted alphabetically (August 2025)
Note: the allowances below are for each airline’s most basic fare. Often, you can buy a more expensive ticket and get a more generous allowance.
Aer Lingus
Cabin allowance: Honestly, Aer Lingus's carry-on rules are a bit of a nightmare to wrap your head around. In general, you get one cabin bag and one personal item (e.g. handbag or laptop). But you may have to pay a small fee for your cabin bag, except in niche situations like when you're travelling with an infant, or booked via British Airways.
Maximum dimensions: For the cabin bag, the maximum dimensions are 55 x 40 x 24cm, and the personal item dimensions shouldn't exceed 33 x 25 x 20cm.
Weight allowed: 10kg
Aeroflot
Cabin allowance: One cabin bag and one personal item.
Maximum dimensions: 55 x 40 x 25cm (cabin bag) and 80cm total (personal item)
Weight allowed: 10kg combined.
Air France
Cabin allowance: With a basic fare, you're entitled to one personal item (e.g. handbag or laptop).
Maximum dimensions: The personal item shouldn't exceed 40 x 30 x 15cm. If your fare type also includes a cabin bag, it can be 55 x 35 x 25cm.
Weight allowed: The maximum combined weight (including the personal item) is 8kg.
British Airways
Cabin allowance: One cabin bag and one personal item (e.g. handbag or laptop).
Maximum dimensions: For the cabin bag, the maximum dimensions are 56 x 45 x 25cm, and the personal item dimensions are 40 x 30 x 15cm.
Weight allowed: Each bag can be up to 23kg.
easyJet
Cabin allowance: One personal item.
Maximum dimensions: 45 x 36 x 20cm
Weight allowed: 15kg
ITA Airways
Cabin allowance: One cabin bag and one personal item.
Maximum dimensions: 55 x 35 x 25cm (cabin bag) and 45 x 36 x 20cm (personal item).
Weight allowed: The cabin bag can be up to 8kg. No limit is specified for the personal item.
Jet2
Cabin allowance: One cabin bag and one personal item.
Maximum dimensions: 56 x 45 x 25 (cabin bag) and 40 x 30 x 15cm (personal item).
Weight allowed: The cabin bag can be up to 10kg. No limit is specified for the personal item.
KLM
Cabin allowance: With a basic fare, you're entitled to one personal item (e.g. handbag or laptop).
Maximum dimensions: The personal item shouldn't exceed 40 x 30 x 15cm. If your fare type also includes a cabin bag, it can be 55 x 35 x 25cm.
Weight allowed: The maximum combined weight (including the personal item) is 12kg.
Lufthansa
Cabin allowance: One cabin bag OR one foldable garment bag.
Maximum dimensions: For the cabin bag, the maximum dimensions are 55 x 40 x 23cm, and the foldable item dimensions shouldn’t exceed 57 x 54 x 15cm.
Weight allowed: 8kg total
Norwegian
Cabin allowance: One personal item.
Maximum dimensions: 40 x 30 x 20cm.
Weight allowed: 10kg.
Pegasus
Cabin allowance: One personal item.
Maximum dimensions: 40 x 30 x 15cm
Weight allowed: 3kg
Ryanair
Cabin allowance: One small bag.
Maximum dimensions: 40 x 30 x 20cm (an updated limit, which was rolled out in July 2025).
Weight allowed: No official weight restriction, but it must be small enough to fit under the seat in front of you.
Scandinavian Airlines
Cabin allowance: One personal item. Some tickets also allow an additional cabin bag.
Maximum dimensions: The personal item can be 40 x 30 x 15cm. If you're allowed a cabin bag, it can be 55 x 40 x 23cm.
Weight allowed: No official weight restriction for the personal item. If you're allowed a cabin bag, it shouldn't exceed 8kg.
TUI Airways
Cabin allowance: One cabin bag and one personal item.
Maximum dimensions: 55 x 40 x 20cm (cabin bag) and 40 x 30 x 20cm (personal item).
Weight allowed: The cabin bag can be up to 10kg. No limit is specified for the personal item.
Turkish Airlines
Cabin allowance: One cabin bag and one personal item.
Maximum dimensions: 55 x 40 x 23cm (cabin bag) and 40 x 30 x 15cm (personal item).
Weight allowed: 8kg (cabin bag) and 4kg (personal item).
Vueling Airlines
Cabin allowance: One cabin bag and one personal item (e.g. handbag or laptop)
Maximum dimensions: For the cabin bag, the maximum dimensions are 55 x 40 x 20cm, and the personal item should be 40 x 30 x 20cm.
Weight allowed: 10kg for the cabin bag, no explicit weight limit for the personal item.
Wizz Air
Cabin allowance: One small cabin bag. Wizz also generously allows you take your mobile phone and "a coat or blanket" on board at no extra cost.
Maximum dimensions: No more than 40 x 30 x 20cm.
Weight allowed: No more than 10kg.
On many European airlines, space is at a premium.
Many of us are familiar with the exhausting, soul-crushing feeling of trying to squeeze an American-sized carry-on bag into the petite European version of an overhead locker.
Before you know it, you’ve got a tired, frustrated mob of tweed-clad old-world intellectuals trying to elbow you out of the way as you wrestle your bag into the tight space above your head.
Not fun at all.
Worse than that – these days, you risk not being able to bring a carry-on into the cabin at all.
Some airlines will force half the passengers to check their carry-on at the last minute. And they’ll often charge you extra for the privilege.
That’s not ideal – especially if you carefully packed everything you need for the flight into that bag.
Check first ✓
Remember: when flying on one of these airlines, always check the latest info on the airline’s website before choosing and packing a carry on bag.
Hot tip: We collected even more airline guidelines here → carryonbagsizes.com
How To Pack Light And Stay Within Airline Weight Limits
We could (and likely will!) write a whole lot more about how to stay light when you’re on the move, but let’s cover a few quick tips for anyone who’s about to get on the road.
Firstly, when you’re packing your carry-on, always ask yourself the hard questions: do I really need fifteen pairs of socks with me on this trip?
Getting to a state of feeling at home even when you’re not at home is often an exercise in packing discipline – being very deliberate about the things you bring with you on the move.
If you’re allowed to bring a personal item with you onto the plane in addition to your carry-on, it’s generally a good idea to try and fit your heaviest items in the smaller bag – it’s less likely to be weighed by a gate agent. You could put your clothes in your larger bag and your laptop in your smaller one, for example.
Pack strategically. Lay out everything that you might need, then cut back until you’re down to the essentials. Then pack what you’ve decided is a must-have – starting with the heaviest and least used items, which can go at the bottom of your bag.
You can even weigh your bag at home to make sure it isn’t too heavy.
In the end, feisty airline agents aren’t the only reason to downsize your overall pack load. After all, someone has to actually carry your stuff around – and unless you have a very generous travel partner, that someone is very likely you!
LOOKING FOR A CARRY-ON BAG DESIGNED FOR EUROPEAN AIRLINE LIMITS?
Look no further. Check out the Minaal Carry-on 3.0.
3 comments
If you do carry on only, within the required sizes, no checked bags, will the airline still be strict with your carry on weight. We will not be checking two 50 lbs suitcases, so not contributing to the checked luggage weight.
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Minaal replied:
Hi Jennifer! Good question – in our experience, the strictness will be the same regardless of whether you have any checked luggage. The staff member at the gate responsible for enforcing the airline rules usually won’t know if you have checked luggage, because you would have already dropped it off.
Where is Condor?
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Minaal replied:
Hi Andrea – we need to add a few more airlines to this page! We’ll get on that. In the meantime, you can find Condor’s carry-on details at our website tool: https://www.carryonbagsizes.com/
Where is Iceland Air?
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Minaal replied:
Hi Rich – sorry for the late reply, this comment slipped under our radar. We’ll be updating this post soon with more airlines (including Iceland Air!) – in the meantime you can find info for every airline, worldwide, at www.carryonbagsizes.com <http://www.carryonbagsizes.com/>