Can passengers be required to check in hand luggage? Understand the rules inside planes | Tourism and Travel

In the case in question – treated as racism by a witness –, the captain and crew asked the black woman, already inside the plane, to check her hand luggage before a flight from Salvador to São Paulo. The request was refused by her, stating that her notebook was inside the backpack and would be damaged if it was dispatched.

Company officials then determined that she should dispatch or leave the flight. After the expulsion – carried out by three agents of the Federal Police –, Gol stated, in a note, that the woman did not continue the trip because “she did not accept the placement of her luggage in the correct and safe places for the bags”.

Another passenger who accompanied the case classified the episode as an “extremely violent act of racism”.

After all, can passengers be required to dispatch hand luggage?

For aeronautical law specialist Felipe Bonsenso, depending on the situation, yes. He explains that there is no article within the Brazilian Aeronautics Code that directly establishes the mandatory dispatch. This definition, therefore, is up to the companies, considering whether or not there is space inside the aircraft.

“According to the Brazilian Aeronautical Code, the commander and the crew have authority inside the aircraft. Therefore, if in the view of the commander and the crew there is no more space for luggage, the passenger will not be able to push it in the compartment. He will have to check it”, he explains.

He considers, however, that this cannot be done arbitrarily. That is, if there is space and the hand luggage is within the rules of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), there is no reason to require the dispatch (see below for weight and allowances).

“If it’s a backpack and fits in the space in front of the seat, for example, it’s allowed. If it’s a notebook, you can keep that item, including using the space allocated in the front seat.”

Hand luggage rules

Anac establishes that the passenger has the right to take with him, in the cabin of the aircraft, up to 10 kilos at no extra cost. The agency considers, however, that the dimensions of these bags and the amount of volumes are determined by the airlines.

According to the Associação Brasileira das Empresas Aéreas (Abear), hand luggage must have the maximum dimensions of 55 cm X 35 cm x 25 cm – including handles, wheels and external pockets –, both on domestic and international flights, in addition to respect the weight limit of 10 kilos.

Also according to Abear, companies also allow the traveler to take a personal item free of charge, which can be a small bag, a work folder or a laptop backpack, for example.

The maximum measurements – valid for Latam and Voepass – must be 45 cm X 35 cm X 20 cm. Gol considers 43 cm X 32 cm X 22 cm as limit dimensions, while RIMA does not allow the transport of one more item on board.

According to ANAC, you can not be carried in hand luggage:

• Weapons – fire, pressure, electric shock or chemical (including replica or toy), slingshot, pepper spray, acid or neutralizing.
• Sharp or sharp objects – axes, ice picks, stilettos, martial arts equipment, razors, knives, scissors, pocket knives or multifunctional instruments with blades greater than 6 cm.
• Work Tools – crowbars and similar levers, drills and drills (including portable and cordless), screwdrivers and chisels with a blade or shaft exceeding 6 cm, saws (including portable or cordless), blowtorches, hammers, sledgehammers, nail guns (and similar), alarm devices.
• Explosive, incendiary or flammable substances – explosives, ammunition, fuses, fuses, detonators, fuses, mines, grenades or similar, fireworks, smoke generating cartridges, dynamite, gunpowder, metallic powders and the like, flammable liquids, aerosols, flammable gases, torch-type lighters, repellents of animals in aerosols.
• Chemicals, toxic substances and other hazardous items – chlorine, liquid bleaches, batteries with corrosive spillable liquids, mercury, acids, poisons, infectious and radioactive materials.