Ryanair has strict hand luggage rules with the free small personal bag limited to 40x30x20cm, but there are some surprising items you can bring onboard
Ryanair do not allow pets onboard, but they will allow human remains(Image: Getty)
As you prepare to board flights for your spring and summer holidays, knowing exactly how big your hand luggage should be and what you can and can’t pack can be a stressful affair – but Ryanair’s regulations allow some surprisingly unusual items.
While their free ‘small personal bag’ policy continues to leave countless travellers scratching their heads over whether their bag qualifies, the airline appears considerably more relaxed about what’s actually inside it.
Most airlines, Ryanair included, allow passengers to bring a ‘small personal bag’ on board free of charge, provided it fits beneath your seat.
If you haven’t bought the additional hand luggage option, there’s a considerable risk you’ll face a fine for carrying a bag larger than 40x30x20, making it absolutely essential that everything you pack serves a purpose.
Ryanair bans a lengthy list of items from their flights, including certain razors, some alcoholic beverages and sports equipment – however, people are astonished to discover what you are actually permitted to bring aboard.
The catalogue of items the airline allows on board encompasses many things that wouldn’t necessarily seem essential to the average traveller. Essentially, if it doesn’t appear to pose any danger, they’ll welcome even the most peculiar of items on board.
According to the Ryanair website, passengers can in fact travel with ashes on board the aircraft as a permitted item in cabin bags or as an addition to their standard allowance. However, these must be accompanied by both a death certificate and cremation certificate.
They state: “Please make sure that any ashes are very securely packaged inside a suitable container with a screw-top lid and that this is protected against breakage.”
Additionally, passengers are permitted to bring a parachute in their carry-on luggage, including paragliding wings, provided they conform to the standard size and weight restrictions.
For those wanting extra peace of mind, you can even bring your own life jacket, as long as it contains two carbon dioxide cylinders and two spares.
Confusion frequently arises regarding which electronic devices are permitted in hand luggage, and it turns out the answer is far more generous than most would expect. According to their website, Ryanair permits “up to 15 personal electronic devices” onboard.
These include smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras, handheld gaming consoles, headphones and power banks. The caveat is that each must not exceed 100 Wh, which applies to spare lithium batteries and power banks, all of which are permitted provided they fall within this limit.
The stipulations for these electronic devices are somewhat more precise, however, with the airline specifying: “Spare lithium batteries must be individually protected to prevent short circuits by: placement in original retail packaging, or insulating terminals by taping over exposed terminals, or placing each battery in a separate plastic bag or protective pouch.”
Regarding items deemed ‘strictly prohibited’, this primarily refers to objects that could inflict harm or present a significant danger. Their catalogue includes:
- Guns, firearms and other devices that discharge projectiles — devices capable, or appearing capable, of being used to cause serious injury by discharging a projectile.
- Stunning devices — devices designed specifically to stun or immobilise
- Explosives and incendiary substances and devices
The following items Ryanair state must not be carried on board for health and safety reasons, but can be carried in your hand luggage.
- Items designed for chopping, such axes, hatchets and cleavers,
- Ice axes, ice picks and ice skates,
- Razors and razor blades (except safety or disposable razors with enclosed blades and razor heads held in plastic compartments),
- Box cutters,
- Knives with blades of more than 6cm, including lockable or flick knives, ceremonial or religious knives and hunting knives made of metal or any other material strong enough to be used as a potential weapon, craft knives and utility knives and scrapers,
- Scissors with blades of more than 6cm, as measured from the fulcrum,
- Martial arts equipment with a sharp point or sharp edge, including throwing stars,
- Swords and sabres,
- Swordsticks, meat cleavers, machetes, Scalpels, crampons, grappling irons, hooked bars of iron and plates with iron spikes used in mountaineering,
- Harpoons and spears,
- Ski poles and walking or hiking poles
- crowbars, drills and drill bits, including cordless portable power drills
- tools with a blade or a shaft of more than 6 cm capable of use as a weapon, such as screwdrivers and chisels,
- saws, including cordless portable power saws,
- blowtorches,
- bolt guns and nail guns,
- hammers, pliers, wrenches and spanners
- Baseball and softball bats,
- Clubs and batons, such as billy clubs, blackjacks and night sticks,
- Martial arts equipment (for example, knuckledusters, coshes, flails),
- Tennis rackets, squash rackets and so on,
- Cricket bats,
- Hockey sticks, hurley sticks and lacrosse sticks,
- Kayak and canoe paddles,
- Skateboards,
- Billiard, snooker and pool cues,
- Darts,
- Fishing rods.
When it comes to liquids, each container must not exceed 100 ml and must be transported in a single, see-through plastic bag measuring up to 20 cm x 20 cm.
Ryanair requires that you’re able to “completely seal the bag” and accommodate it within your hand luggage. It will probably be removed from your baggage for separate screening.