Cabin Baggage in 2026: What Each Airline Actually Allows

In 2026, no European airline is required to carry your cabin suitcase for free. The European Parliament did vote on 7 July 2026 for a text reported everywhere as "free cabin baggage", but two details change everything: the law does not apply yet, and what it guarantees free of charge is the small bag that fits under the seat, not the trolley that goes in the overhead locker.

Until then, every carrier keeps its own centimetres. And they do not match: the free bag is 40x30x20 cm at Ryanair, 45x36x20 cm at easyJet, 40x30x15 cm at Air France. A bag that is perfectly legal on one flight can be turned away on the next. Here are the real figures, taken from the airlines' own pages and from the text of the law itself, on 10 September 2026.

What Europe voted for, and what it did not

On 7 July 2026, MEPs adopted the revision of the air passenger rights regulation by 646 votes to 12, with 3 abstentions, according to the Parliament's press release. The Council of the EU gave its final clearance on 13 July. So the text is adopted. It is not in force.

The consolidated text is explicit about its own timetable: the regulation enters into force on the twentieth day following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, and then applies twelve months from that entry into force. As of 10 September 2026, that publication had not happened. The countdown has not even started: at best the new rules will bind airlines some time in 2027, and more likely towards the end of that year.

The substance also repays a close reading, because it is narrower than the headlines suggested. The text creates a legal definition of the "personal item": a piece of unchecked baggage of 40x30x15 cm at most, or — and this alternative matters — any bag that fits under the seat in front of the passenger. That one, Article 11a requires airlines to carry "in the cabin and at no extra cost".

The trolley is not free. The same article only asks carriers to "permit" passengers to bring a piece of hand baggage into the cabin, and immediately adds the qualifier "subject to the capacity of the aircraft cabin". Its real obligation lies elsewhere, and it is about pricing: whenever fares are offered or published, the fare including an allowance for a piece of hand baggage must be displayed by default before the booking process starts. The text adds that this does not stop airlines from offering cheaper deals to passengers who voluntarily choose to travel without hand baggage.

So where does the widely quoted figure of 7 kg and 100 cm combined come from? From the Parliament's negotiating position, adopted in January 2026 by 632 votes to 15. MEPs did ask for a second free bag within those limits. That threshold did not survive the negotiation with member states: it is absent from the adopted text. Treating it as settled law promises readers a right they do not have.

One provision will genuinely apply, and it is useful: if safety reasons, capacity reasons or a change of aircraft type prevent a personal item or a piece of hand baggage being carried in the cabin, the airline may require it to go in the hold — but "at no further cost to the passenger".

The real dimensions, airline by airline

Until the regulation applies, only your carrier's own policy counts. Here is what their help pages show in September 2026. Two principles recur throughout: the free small bag has to fit under the seat, and the stated dimensions almost always include wheels and handles.

Ryanair

Every fare includes a small bag of 40x30x20 cm to slide under the seat, according to the airline's bag policy. To bring a suitcase into the overhead locker you need the Priority & 2 Cabin Bags option, which adds a bag of 55x40x20 cm and 10 kg. Since September 2025, the airline has replaced its bag sizers with larger 40x30x20 cm models across its 235 European airports: the bag that only just squeezed in before now goes in with a little room to spare.

easyJet

This is the most generous carrier on the free bag: 45x36x20 cm including handles and wheels, and up to 15 kg, provided you can lift it yourself and stow it under the seat in front. Those extra five centimetres of width and six of depth over Ryanair are often enough to fit a genuine small wheeled case. The large cabin bag of 56x45x25 cm, also capped at 15 kg, is included for easyJet Plus members and Inclusive Plus fares; otherwise you book it as an add-on, subject to space on board. Details on the cabin bags page.

Air France

The system here is different: Air France works on combined weight. In Economy you get either no cabin bag or one, depending on the fare you buy, plus a personal item of 40x30x15 cm. The cabin bag measures at most 55x35x25 cm including pockets, wheels and handles, and the total — bag plus personal item — must not exceed 12 kg. Premium Economy, Business and La Première rise to two cabin bags plus a personal item. The airline specifies that a coat, an umbrella, a bag of duty-free purchases and children's equipment such as a stroller or car seat count as neither baggage nor personal item. The thing to check before you pay: on entry-level fares the trolley is not included. It is all set out on Air France's baggage page.

Transavia

Whatever the fare — Basic, Plus or Max — a hand bag of 40x30x20 cm including wheels and handles is free, and must go under the seat in front. The cabin bag of 55x40x25 cm is included in the Smart and Max fares; elsewhere it costs from €12.99 (about $14) one way, and from €39 on flights to and from Senegal, depending on the route and when you book. Watch the shared ceiling: the two bags together must not exceed 10 kg. Full pricing on the cabin baggage fees page.

Wizz Air

A bag of 40x30x20 cm and 10 kg is included for everyone. The trolley of 55x40x23 cm, also capped at 10 kg, requires the WIZZ Priority option. The airline adds a useful subtlety on its cabin baggage page: the dimensions exclude handles and wheels, but the wheels must add no more than 5 cm.

If you want one bag that passes anywhere without thinking about it, the common denominator is 40x30x15 cm. That is the smallest free format of the group, Air France's, and it is no coincidence that it is also the size the EU legislator settled on. A bag that size will never cost you a size surcharge on any of these five airlines — just keep an eye on weight, capped at 10 kg at Wizz Air and Transavia and 12 kg combined at Air France.

Liquids: the 100 ml rule has not gone away

You will regularly read that new scanners have ended the 100 ml rule. That is wrong in 2026, and the mistake is expensive at the security check. The European rule in force is unchanged: containers of 100 ml each at most, gathered in a single transparent resealable plastic bag of no more than one litre.

There was a window. Some airports fitted with next-generation scanners (EDSCB, known as C3), able to analyse liquids and laptops without taking them out of the bag, had raised the limit. The European Commission ended that: since 1 September 2024, those airports reverted to the standard 100 ml ceiling after a technical problem with the equipment concerned. Machines notified before 1 August 2024 may only screen liquids under that limit.

In practice a tolerance may exist on one specific security lane, in one specific terminal, without holding for the whole airport or for your return flight. The one approach that never backfires: pack your liquids bag to the 100 ml format every time, and relax the rule only where signs on site explicitly say so.

Avoiding the surcharge at the gate

The fee paid at the gate is always the most expensive one, and it is the only entirely avoidable cost of your trip. Five habits are enough.

Measure with the wheels and handles. This is the most common trap: manufacturers happily quote the dimensions of the shell, while airlines measure the whole object. Ryanair, easyJet, Air France and Transavia explicitly include wheels and handles in their figures. A tape measure on your empty case beats an estimate.

Pay online, never at the airport. Every airline charges more for baggage at the desk or the gate than at the time of booking. Transavia advertises its cabin option from €12.99 online; the price quoted on the spot bears no relation to it.

Check the combined weight, not just the dimensions. Air France caps the total at 12 kg, Transavia at 10 kg for both bags together, Wizz Air at 10 kg per bag. A case with the right dimensions but too much weight is refused exactly like an oversized one.

Plan for the locker filling up. Even with a paid option, carriage remains subject to the aircraft's actual capacity, at easyJet as at Wizz Air. On a full flight, the last passengers to board watch their case go into the hold. So keep in your under-seat bag whatever must not leave you: medication, documents, lithium batteries, charger, keys.

Reread the rules at every booking, especially on a mixed return trip. London to Seville out with Transavia and back with Ryanair means two different size limits for the same case. Our guide to the 7 flight booking mistakes that cost you money covers this, and our piece on denied boarding in 2026 shows where inattention to ticket conditions leads. Think too about the travel authorisations to obtain before you fly: they need sorting at the same moment.

Frequently asked questions

Is cabin baggage free in 2026?

No. The EU regulation adopted in July 2026 guarantees one free personal item of 40x30x15 cm, or any bag that fits under the seat, but it does not apply yet and it does not make the trolley free. At Ryanair, Transavia and Wizz Air, the overhead case remains a paid option.

When will the new European rule apply?

The text enters into force twenty days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, then applies twelve months after that. That publication had not taken place as of 10 September 2026, so the realistic date falls some time in 2027, more likely late in the year.

What size of case passes on every airline?

A bag of 40x30x15 cm passes free everywhere: it is the smallest free format of the group and the size the EU legislator chose. For a trolley you need to combine the three lowest limits: 55 cm long, 35 cm wide (Air France's ceiling) and 20 cm deep (Ryanair's). A bag of 55x35x20 cm therefore fits everywhere — though you will still pay the option at the low-cost carriers.

Do wheels and handles count towards the dimensions?

Yes at Ryanair, easyJet, Air France and Transavia, which include them explicitly. Wizz Air is the exception, measuring without handles and wheels provided the wheels add no more than 5 cm. When in doubt, always measure the whole object.

Can you still carry more than 100 ml of liquid?

Not reliably, no. The limit of 100 ml per container, inside a one-litre transparent bag, remains the rule across the European Union. Airports that had lifted it thanks to C3 scanners went back on 1 September 2024 by decision of the Commission.

What happens if my bag goes into the hold against my wishes?

Today it depends on the airline. Once the new regulation applies, hold transfer imposed for reasons of safety, capacity or a change of aircraft will have to be done at no extra cost. In every case, take out your medication, documents, lithium batteries and valuables before handing the case over.