Editing Checked baggage (section)

==Checked baggage on airlines==

===Checked baggage policies===
Every airline has its own policies with regard to [[baggage allowance]]. Often the policy is also dependent on where the flight goes to or comes from. Tickets executed by multiple airlines may have different rules. Usually the exact conditions of a specific booking are mentioned in the ticket information online. 

On [[short-haul]] internal flights in the US and Canada, with some exceptions,{{efn|Low-cost carrier [[Southwest Airlines]] used to be unusual by permitting two pieces of checked luggage without charge until Elliot Investments got greedy and forced the airline to start charging for bags on May 28, 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southwest.com/html/air/bags-fly-free.html|title=Bags fly free - First and second checked bags are free|publisher=Southwest Airlines|access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref>}} checked baggage is no longer complimentary with most discounted [[Economy class|economy tickets]], and must be paid for in addition to the ticket price; a passenger generally has to hold a higher or full fare economy ticket, travel in a premium cabin, hold elite status on an airline, or an airline credit card to be afforded complimentary checked baggage. For [[long-haul]] and transoceanic flights, checked baggage is included as standard.

[[Low-cost carrier|Low-cost carriers]] such as [[Ryanair]] in Europe and [[AirAsia]] in Asia charge for checked baggage, whilst for full-service airlines the cost is included in the ticket price.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ryanair's Bag Policy |url=https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360017824658-Ryanair-s-Bag-Policy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AirAsia Baggage Info |url=https://www.airasia.com/aa/inflight-comforts/en/gb/baggage.html}}</ref> Beginning with flights booked on or after May 28, 2025, Southwest Airlines ended its long-standing policy of allowing two free checked bags for most passengers. The airline now charges $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Tawny |date=2025-05-29 |title=Southwest Airlines introduces new baggage fees, ends free bags for many travelers |url=https://foxsanantonio.com/newsletter-daily/southwest-airlines-introduces-new-baggage-fees-ends-free-bags-for-many-travelers-passengers-flights-rewards-open-seating-policy |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=KABB |language=en}}</ref>

===Passenger-baggage reconciliation===
According to the rules of most air transportation authorities, such as the [[United States|U.S.]] [[Federal Aviation Administration]] and [[European Union]]'s [[Joint Aviation Authorities]], should passengers flying internationally with checked baggage fail to arrive at the departure gate before the flight is closed, that person's baggage must be retrieved from the aircraft hold before the flight is permitted to take off. For Singapore, passengers with prohibited items are required to take it out from the bags retrieved at the check-in counter, failing which the baggage will be flagged with prohibited items and will be dumped away before boarding. In the United States, this does not apply to domestic flights since all bags are required to go through explosive detection machines (EDS) prior to loading. Making sure passengers board flights onto which they have checked baggage is called "passenger-baggage reconciliation" and is accomplished automatically through two commercially available systems.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iata.org/policy/Documents/baggage-reconciliation.pdf|title=Baggage reconciliation|publisher=[[International Air Transport Association|IATA]]|access-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713044235/http://www.iata.org/policy/Documents/baggage-reconciliation.pdf|archive-date=13 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The security presumption of passenger-baggage reconciliation is that terrorists will not want to kill themselves, and will not board an aircraft if they have caused a bomb to be placed in its hold. This presumption does not hold true of [[Suicide bombing|suicide bombers]].

Unaccompanied suitcases led to the downing of four flights, when a bomb inside the suitcase exploded:
*1983: [[Gulf Air Flight 771]]
*1985: [[Air India Flight 182]]
*1988: [[Pan Am Flight 103]]
*1989: [[UTA Flight 772]]