Has anyone tried to bring more than one piece of hand baggage through Heathrow Airport recently? (Either unintentionally or intentionally.) I have read that the restrictions are very strictly enforced. I prefer not to check in my luggage and have a small carry-on and a backpack. I could probably stuff the backpack into the roll-aboard piece but my partner seems to take more stuff with him and I don't know if he can do it too.
Although I don't like the regulations, I do respect them and understand their purpose. I just don't want to risk lost luggage either. I have read that Heathrow airport has a horrible record of losing luggage. So, I am looking for strategies to avoid ending up at our destination without our bags. We are going from San Francisco to London Heathrow and then on to Munich, Germany and finally to Naples, Italy. Should we check our bags in at check-in and cross our fingers, or try to take them with us and expect to part with them at Heathrow. Also, if Heathrow security requires us to check our "extra" bag, do we have to go to the front ticket counters or can we do it at the connection center.
Thanks for your input about your experiences and suggestions.
Cheers,
Sean
I tried to board a plane at Heathrow in April with 2 items of hand-luggage (a laptop bag and a small backpack).
I had no problem at check in, and was assured it would be ok, then when I got to the security check was told that there was no way I could take two bags through.
The solution :- I unpacked the backpack in the queue, rolled up the backpack and put in inside the laptop bag. Then carried the contents of the backpack through in my arms along with my laptop bag. Then as soon as I was through the other side repacked everything as it was and continued on my journey.
It's a pretty anal rule, but it is strictly enforced.....
P.S wear shoes that are easy to take on and off, because they will probably have your shoes off as well.
I've just come through Heathrow and the limit was enforced just then. A Japanese woman in front of me had two bags and she was forced to put them both in one very large plastic bag which she had to hump around as it had no handles.
It is strictly enforced. Like you I prefer to travel with carry-on only, but this is really difficult, as occasionally the carry-on is also weighed. Check out the airline's weight limit.
The security checks don't care about the weight of your hand luggage only the size. As long as you can stuff all your possessions into a bag (even a bin liner) so that it fits a box 56x45x25cm security won't care if it's feathers or gold bricks
The airline however may impose their own restrictions for hand luggage - Lufthansa is one piece of 55x40x20cm & 8kg whereas BA is one piece 56x45x25cm and no restriction on weight (so just keep everything in the bin liner) HOWEVER if your flights are through ticketed you will get the full transatlantic allowance for your luggage - except for the hand luggage where it has to be one piece
If Heathrow requires you to check your bag then you can't do it at the flight connections centre - you'll have to go through immigration and find the check-in desk for your airline
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<hr>It's a pretty anal rule, but it is strictly enforced.....<hr></blockquote>
The reason for the rule was explained recently, it reduces the time it takes to get through security (something people often complain about) though of course this isn't the case whenpeople don'tbother sticking to the rules and so cause hold ups in the queue while they re-pack things
#5:
No restricton of weight at BA ? Is this a new rule? Last year they told me it's 6 kg and two years ago BA weighed all carry-ons, everything more than 6 kg had to be checked in.They did this in the gate using a sort of slide for the additional checked baggage. This was in Heathrow.
I would love to hear that BA abandoned the weight limit.
I have been "hanging out" at Heathrow a lot in the last month (as you do...) and there is an almost constant PA announcement saying "passengers are permitted one piece of hand baggage only". There is a basket at the start of the security queue, which your one item must fit into. They appear to mean it, judging by the amount of protesting and gesticulating passengers I have seen recently.
#1. tiriam, The taking shoes on and off issue seems to depend on the style of footwear. For instance a few weeks ago I was going thru security and noticed people wearing shoes/boots with thick soles/large heels were having to remove them and have them scanned whilst people such as I wearing thin soled trainers or moccasin type shoes did not have to do so.
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