All Australian Airlines Will Be Weighing Yr Carry-On Bags From Next Week

The days of sneaking bricks in yr wheelie bags onto planes are just about done, mates. From next week on, all Australian airlines will be weighing carry-on baggage prior to boarding in a bid to crack down on the number of passengers bringing oversized bags onto planes.

[jwplayer ZiRcgTaN]

Virgin Australia today confirmed it will be following suit with Qantas in adopting the new policies, bringing them in-line with their respective budget carriers Tigerair and Jetstar. This means that as of Monday, December 17th, you’re gonna have to drop that suspiciously heavy-looking bag on a set of scales to make sure it’s really below 7kg before you get onto plane. The strained face and painful “it’s fine look I can carry it” smile despite rapid onset spine curvature method of dodging bag fees by shoving half yr life into a duffel bag will no longer cut the mustard.

Virgin Australia passengers will be subject to carry-on bag weighing from tomorrow, but beefed up resources will be in place by next Monday, meaning the new initiatives will hit the peak-Christmas period travellers head-on.

The carry-on bag weighing will reportedly take place at various points throughout the airport, including at check-in and bag drop, as well as at the boarding gate. Passengers with luggage that exceeds 7kg will be forced to stow their bags below deck.

Virgin’s announcement follows in the footsteps of Qantas, who announced last week it would be cracking down on passengers’ carry-on baggage under a similar new scheme.

Low-cost carriers Tigerair and Jetstar have routinely weighed passengers’ carry-on for some time now. Recently, Tigerair has been trialling a new system involving tagging and clearing carry-on bags after weighing, with untagged bags not allowed to pass the gate until being weighed.

Virgin Australia general manager of ground operations Paul Woosnam issued a statement to media earlier today confirming the new policies, asserting that the new rules would make travelling fairer for all passengers, and would reduce any undue risk to both passengers and crew from heavy bags.

As an industry, we’re seeing many passengers trying to bring everything but the kitchen sink on domestic flights, which is causing flight delays as well as safety issues for cabin crew, ground crew and passengers.

We’re seeing injuries to our cabin crew caused by closing overhead lockers full of heavy baggage, shifting bags in overhead lockers to assist guests finding space and assisting passengers with lifting their bags into the overhead compartments.

This is preventable if all passengers adhered to the baggage limits and guidelines.

The industry-wide crackdown on oversized carry-on luggage is supported by the Civil Aviation Authority. It applies only to domestic passengers at this stage.

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV