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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

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.

WASHINGTON — Morning broke in the Middle East on Wednesday with a wave of attacks by Iran. Air defenses in Kuwait were overwhelmed. Three dozen drones and 17 ballistic missiles were shot down over the United Arab Emirates. The most important oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia suffered a hit. Sirens flared in Tel Aviv, and a devastating drumbeat of Israeli strikes targeting Iran’s allies in Lebanon killed scores in Beirut.

A day after President Trump hailed a ceasefire in his war with the Islamic Republic, reversing course on his threat to escalate, the only country spared from attack appeared to be Iran itself.

The “fragile truce,” as Vice President JD Vance called it, began with a calculated show of force from an Iran militarily weakened by six weeks of U.S.-Israeli strikes, yet strategically positioned to press for sweeping concessions from an American president eager to end the war.

Strait flush

A naval vessel sails on March 1 in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world’s oil and gas passes.

(Sahar al Attar / AFP/Getty Images)

The president’s main conditions for a truce were the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and, through negotiations, a definitive end to Iran’s nuclear work. But Tehran offered no sign of relenting on its enrichment program, and by Wednesday afternoon, had warned that tanker traffic would halt through the strait until Israel paused its attacks in Lebanon.

It was the clearest demonstration yet of Iran’s emboldened position to use the strait — treated for decades as a free and open international waterway — as a bargaining tool, threatening its closure over any number of demands, or else implementing a toll system as reparations for its war damage.

By Friday, U.S. negotiators flying to Islamabad for talks can expect Iran’s hold on the strait to weigh against all other priorities, including American demands that Iran relinquish its right to enrich uranium, the source of decades of tortured diplomatic efforts.

The White House said that traffic had increased through the strait on Wednesday. But it also described reports of its closure, briefed to a displeased president, as “completely unacceptable,” serving as a stark reminder in the West Wing of the new world its war had brought.

James Acton, co-director of the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called the ceasefire framework “a foreign policy disaster” for the United States that revealed Iranian leverage long predicted by independent experts and intelligence analysts.

“Let’s assume the ceasefire actually takes hold — and as far as I can see, it hasn’t done so far,” Acton said. “Iran has the upper hand, and frankly, it’s not close.”

“The negotiations are likely to focus on opening the Strait of Hormuz, which is clearly Trump’s top goal, not Iran’s nuclear program,” he added. “Because Iran has demonstrated it can close the strait — and inflict large economic costs on the U.S. and large political costs on Trump — it now has plenty of leverage over the United States.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on Wednesday. Leavitt spoke to reporters on a range of topics including a two-week ceasefire deal between the U.S., Iran and Israel.

(Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

Unclear terms

The Trump administration reportedly urged two allies of Tehran — China and Pakistan — to pressure the Iranians into a ceasefire ahead of a Tuesday evening deadline, self-imposed by Trump, to escalate the conflict. The resulting truce was described not in a shared statement among the warring parties, but in separate, differing social media posts that all but guaranteed misinterpretation between the two sides.

A statement from the Pakistanis, who have helped mediate the talks, said the ceasefire extended to hostilities in Lebanon. The Israeli statement said it did not; Trump’s post omitted any mention of Lebanon at all.

But the president’s statement did say that a 10-point plan from Iran could serve as the basis for negotiations over a long-term truce going forward. The White House was forced to walk that back Wednesday afternoon, claiming that Iran had presented its diplomats with another, secret 10-point plan substantially revised from those detailed in the press.

“They put forward a more reasonable and entirely different and condensed plan to the president and his team,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “The idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wish list as a deal is completely absurd.”

In social media posts and interviews with select reporters on Wednesday, Trump appeared to suggest exactly that — floating sanctions relief for Tehran and proposing a plan to share revenue from a Strait of Hormuz toll system that could raise global oil prices while directly funding the Iranian government.

Limited achievements

Experts agree that the U.S.-Israeli campaign succeeded in significantly degrading Iran’s drone and ballistic missile infrastructure. But in a statement on Wednesday, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said any deal between Washington and Tehran had to include structural limits on those programs — suggesting concern in Israel that Iran could reconstitute its military within a matter of years.

Iran’s continued attacks on its neighbors Wednesday, its downing of American aircraft last week, and its retention of its nuclear material have raised doubts among U.S. allies about whether Washington’s military capabilities can deliver on its promises.

“There is less respect for what the United States — and Trump in particular — can accomplish, be it through military force or diplomacy, and for the strategic thinking that underlies U.S. policy,” said Patrick Clawson, director of the Iran program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “These attitudes are even stronger in Europe, Russia and China.”

Iran’s military weaknesses have been uncovered as well. Few of its missiles and drones inflicted physical damage throughout Israel and the Arab world.

Yet the psychological impact — on local populations, on the economy of metropolitan Dubai, on the commercial shipping sector and the oil market — has proven Iran is capable of exacting greater pain than its conventional military capabilities would suggest.

Whether the United States can return the Strait of Hormuz to its status before the war, as a free and open waterway, may depend on longstanding allies that Trump has ostracized over the course of the war.

“We launched a war that affected the rest of the world, with little consideration for its effects,” said Dennis Ross, a veteran diplomat on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who served in the George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations.

“When you berate allies and leave them out but expect them to be there when you need them, you discover that you don’t have them,” Ross added. “No one is going to assume that the U.S. is more reliable after this.”

What else you should be reading

The must-read:The new LACMA is divisive. It’s also ambitious, disorienting — and radically alive
The deep dive: Excitement over ‘affordable’ L.A. Olympics turns to angry sticker shock over high-priced tickets
The L.A. Times Special: Bruce Springsteen’s comeback at Kia Forum is no victory lap. It’s a battle against Trump

More to come,
Michael Wilner
—
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TUI, easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 can have different rules around what duty free bags you can bring onboard as part of your hand luggage allowance – we take a look at what passengers need to know

Before heading to the airport, it’s crucial to be aware of any hand luggage restrictions and certain duty-free rules that not everyone knows about, with airlines including TUI and Ryanair.

Many of us fly with different airlines, depending on the route, airport and price, so it’s tricky to keep up with the various hand luggage allowances or restrictions. Most airlines allow passengers to take on board a small personal bag for free, which can include a backpack or handbag, while others offer a generous addition of a free cabin bag.

There can also be confusion when it comes to carrying on duty-free, alongside your personal bag or cabin bag. Holidaymakers have often been left questioning whether they can carry it on separately or if they have to pack it into one of their bags.

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To ensure you’re fully prepared for your next getaway, we’ve outlined the key hand luggage rules for four major UK airlines. So you know exactly how big your bag needs to be and what to do with your duty-free goodies before boarding your flight.

Ryanair

When it comes to duty-free, Ryanair allows passengers to carry on their duty-free items alongside their cabin bags. Additionally, passengers can purchase checked bags of 10kg, 20kg, or 23kg while flying with Ryanair.

All Ryanair fares include a small personal bag (40 x 30 x 20 cm), but it must fit under the seat in front of you. There is technically no weight limit to this bag, which is typically a handbag, laptop bag, or small rucksack, but passengers must be able to carry it onboard, unless there is an exception.

When booking Priority boarding, travellers can take an additional 10kg cabin bag (55 x 40 x 20cm) on the plane, which is stored in the overhead lockers. While infants (aged from 8 days to 23 months) have no cabin allowance, parents or guardians can bring a 5kg baby bag ( 45 x 35 x 20 cm) and two baby items on board for free. For more information, visit the Ryanair website.

easyJet

In terms of duty-free, the airline states: “You’re allowed to bring some extra things into the cabin. e.g. umbrella, overcoat, crutches, walking stick, one standard bag of goods bought at the airport.”

Everyone flying with easyJet is entitled to bring one small bag (45 x 36 x 20 cm) on board for free, which must fit under the seat in front. It can weigh up to 15kg, but it’s important to note that its size, including handles and wheels, cannot exceed the specified measurements.

The airline notes that travellers “need to be able to lift and carry the bag” themselves. easyJet passengers can pay for an additional cabin bag (56 x 45 x 25 cm) that fits in the overhead lockers, which also comes with their Speedy Boarding service.

For an easyJet Plus member or customer who has booked an Inclusive Plus fare, they can also take a large cabin bag on board, in addition to the standard cabin bag. Of course, there’s the option to book checked-in luggage too.

For more information, visit the easyJet website.

TUI

TUI customers can take one piece of hand luggage (55 x 40 x 20cm) on board for free, excluding infants. It can weigh up to 10kg, and they can also take one small personal bag (40 x 30 x 20cm) on board, which must fit under the seat in front.

A duty-free bag is also allowed on board, and TUI outlines its requirements for liquids purchased at the airport. They said: “Any liquids you buy from duty-free must be carried in a sealed security bag – you’ll be given this bag when you buy the item at the airport. You’ll need to keep the item and the receipt sealed in the security bag throughout the journey.”

A checked-in bag of 20kg or 25kg is also available to book for an extra fee. For more information, visit the TUI website.

Jet2

Holidaymakers are entitled to take a small bag (40 x 30 x 20cm), such as a handbag or laptop bag – or a duty free bag – that must fit under the seat in front.

You can also take one piece of hand luggage (56cm x 45cm x 25cm) on board for free, provided it fits within the measurements, including wheels and handles, and doesn’t weigh more than 10kg.

Parents with infants under 2 years old are also provided with an additional 10kg allowance. They can also take two items per child or infant on board free of charge, including a collapsible pushchair, car seat or booster, a baby carrier, and a travel cot.

For more information, visit the Jet2 website.

Airline hand luggage rules

When it comes to hand luggage, there are certain packing restrictions to be aware of, and these are typically universal across all airlines. These include the following:

• Liquids: Many airports require liquids to be under 100ml, while some UK airports have ditched this rule. As rules have changed, it’s best to check directly with the airport for both your outbound and inbound flights, as countries outside the UK may have different restrictions.

• Lighters: As outlined on the government website, travellers can only carry one lighter on board a plane. It cannot be packed in hold luggage; instead, it should be placed in a resealable plastic bag in carry-on luggage and kept in your possession throughout the flight.

• Food and powders: While you can carry certain food items and powders in your hand luggage, they can obstruct images on X-ray machines. This means that bags may need to be manually checked at security, which can cause delays. The government advises packing suitable items into your hold luggage to minimise delays.

• Frozen items: Typically, you cannot carry frozen items in your hand luggage onto your flight, such as food, liquids or ice packs. However, there are some exceptions, such as for medicines, medical equipment, dietary requirements, baby food and baby milk. It’s best to check directly with the airline you’re flying with to ensure you meet their requirements.

• Sharp objects: While you can carry scissors on a plane, the blade must be shorter than 6cm to be placed in carry-on luggage. Small sewing or embroidery scissors are generally allowed, while other larger, sharp items can be packed into hold luggage. It’s best to check directly with your airline for specific requirements.

Some airlines may have specific requirements for some of the above items, so before heading to the airport, it’s best to check directly with your airline to avoid being caught out. After all, there’s nothing worse than having something confiscated at airport security.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

DEADLIEST Catch star Todd Meadows’ cause of death was revealed on Monday, over a month after the deck hand fell overboard into freezing waters.

Meadows died on February 25 in an accident aboard a vessel in the Bering Sea while the Deadliest Catch cameras were rolling.

Meadow, a father of three, died after he drowned “with probable hypothermia” and “submersion of body in cold water,” his death certificate said.

His death was ruled an accident.

The 25-year-old fell overboard while crabbing on a fishing boat off the coast of Alaska and was pronounced dead on February 25 at 5:15pm.

His body was recovered minutes after he fell, but the several attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

read more on todd meadows

DESPERATE CREW

Deadliest Catch star’s harrowing final moments as rescue harness snaps

His death was caught on camera while filming the long-running Discovery Channel series.

Deadliest Catch premiered in 2005, giving insight into the harsh conditions fishing crews face on the Bering Sea.

His mother, Angela, told TMZ that the family doesn’t want the footage to be aired.

“We don’t want to see any footage of the accident and do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our son’s death,” she said.

“We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat.”

Captain Rick Shelford called February 25 “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea.”

“Todd was the newest member of our crew, he quickly became family,” Shelford said.

“His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyone’s respect right away.”

The crew later broke their silence revealing Meadows’ tragic final moments.

The crew said he was left blue and foaming at the mouth after they tried to save him numerous times.

Deckhand Trey John Green III told Page Six that Meadows ended up in the water following an incident with one of the traps used to catch shellfish.

The crew ran to the back of the boat to immediately keep their eyes on Meadows after he hit the water.

“I see Todd. He’s floating, he’s swimming. He’s got huge baby blue eyes. And I can still, probably from like 100 yards away, I could still see his eyes looking around,” Green said.

“Todd was still alive, he’s still swimming, he’s still trying to hang in there.

“We get next to him, and then Steve [Porter] — Steve is the — every boat has a designated rescue swimmer for this exact kind of scenario. Steve was already geared up and was already in the diving suit.”

Green said that when Porter jumped into the water to save Meadows, the harness attached to the crane broke.

Other crew members managed to get a life sling into the water quickly, but when Meadows was “halfway up” and “almost back on the boat,” he fell back into the sea.

“The second time we went to go lift him up, Todd was just — he was lifeless,” Green recalled.

“He didn’t have any more — like I said, the first time, he was fighting, trying to get onto the sling. And then the second time, he was just — he was lifeless.”

Green said Meadows was only in the water for “three or four minutes” before they got him back on the boat, but at that point he began “turning blue.”

“I just want to reiterate that — everybody did everything they could do,” Green said.

A GoFundMe was created after Meadows’ death, which has since raised over $56,000 for his family and his three sons.

Meadows’ mother revealed that the 25-year-old suffered a concussion just weeks before his death.

The head injury left him unable to return to work for several weeks.

He returned to Washington to recover, which was the last week his family saw him, Angela said.

“The last photo I got of him was when he was building a fire. He was listening to music in the moment and was so happy,” she said.

“That’s how I want to remember him.”

Following the controversial final in Rabat – in which Morocco and Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz missed a Panenka penalty to win the match in the 114th minute – the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) immediately lodged a complaint with Caf and Fifa, claiming that Senegal leaving the field of play “greatly affected the normal course of the match and the players’ morale”.

Caf’s disciplinary committee initially rejected that appeal, instead issuing sanctions against both sides, including a five-match ban for Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw, on 29 January.

The FRMF said those original penalties did not “reflect the seriousness of the incidents”, and Caf’s appeal board agreed, releasing a statement on 17 March which said Senegal had contravened articles 82 and 84 of competition regulations.

Article 82 states that if a team “leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee”, they are eliminated.

Senegal’s government responded by calling for an investigation into “suspected corruption” at Caf, a claim rebuffed by the governing body’s president, Patrice Motsepe, who has been at pains to point out the appeal board’s independence.

“It is important that the decisions of our Caf disciplinary board and the Caf appeals board are viewed with respect and integrity,” he said.

The final decision on who claims the 2025 Afcon title now rests with Cas, sport’s highest judicial authority.

“To wage this moral and legal crusade, we have appointed a team of seasoned professionals with undeniable expertise,” Fall announced in Paris, flanked by members of the FSF legal team.

One of them, lawyer Seydou Diagne, called the decision to strip Senegal of their title “so blatant, so absurd, so irrational”.

“The decision of the appeals jury cannot even be considered a true decision of sporting justice,” he added.

“It is an unacceptable and intolerable attack on the fundamental rights of our national Football Federation.”

Fellow lawyer Juan Perez said: “A match that was over, whose result had been decided by the referee, now being re-refereed, administratively – that’s unprecedented. You haven’t seen anything like it. It could change the world of football.”

Caf recently updated the Afcon 2025 review on its website to list Morocco as winners, although that page now appears to have been taken down.

With Senegal refusing to relinquish the trophy, and with Saturday’s planned parade a sign of their contempt, the battle to be crowned African champions is far from over.

Some surprising items are restricted under airport security rules when travelling with hand luggage only

If you’re jetting off this Easter and planning to cram your essentials into a carry-on bag, there are certain items that could land you in hot water without you even realising.

Hand luggage liquids generally need to be under 100ml to pass through airport security, including water bottles, face oils, moisturisers and hand gel.

However, some items that aren’t technically liquids can still cause issues at security. Fulton Umbrellas have put together a list of some surprising items you can and can’t take with you on your journey.

First up is soft cheese, which if you’re travelling back to the UK from the EU, falls under the 100ml limit. The same applies for jams, chutneys, sauces and anything sold in liquid form like antipasti or olives, reports the Express.

Some countries have even stricter rules when it comes to travelling with food, so always check before you pack.

Another item to avoid packing in your carry-on is protein powder. This is because powders can interfere with x-ray machines and will therefore need to be manually checked by staff.

This can be a time-consuming process, so it’s quickest and safest to just leave it at home. And if you really can’t do without it, pop it in your checked bag.

Surprisingly, in the UK, there is one item you are permitted to take on board that you might not expect. If you’re only taking carry-on luggage but fancy indulging in a bit of arts and crafts on the plane, you are allowed to bring a small pair of scissors on board.

The standard guideline in the UK is that any pair of scissors with a blade length less than 6cm is permissible.

For anything larger, it’s advisable to pack them in your checked luggage. Different airlines may have varying regulations regarding items with blades, so it’s wise to verify if you need to carry scissors with you.