Passengers in Australia can now expect to have their cabin bags weighed before boarding from December 2018. All Australian airlines are determined and united in ridding over-sized baggage from aircraft cabins.
Virgin Australia says that passengers should expect to have their carry-on bags weighed at various points in their journey. This will include at the check-in desk and the boarding gate, to ensure they comply with the 7kg limit.
Photo credit: Flickr / yurilong
What does this mean ?
Passengers with bags weighing more than 7kg will have to stow them in the cargo hold with other checked luggage. This change will bring Virgin Australia in line with its rival Qantas.
Low-cost carriers Tigerair Australia and Jetstar already use scales to crack down on cabin baggage cheats.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority fully supports this industry approach to stop over-sized hand luggage.
Tough New Rules for Passengers
With the industry crackdown now on carry-on baggage, it certainly has been a year that’s seen new rules and restrictions.
In May 2018, the Australian Government announced it would no longer allow people to wear glasses in passport photos.
With only very few exceptions, the new rule banned glasses in photos taken after 1 July 2018.
The Australian Passport Office said the new rule “further strengthen the integrity of the Australian passport”. Research has also shown that glasses can adversely affect passport facial matching. It has been shown that matching is far more accurate without glasses.
In June 2018, the Australian Government announced new rules about how much powder product passengers could have in their carry-on baggage. Passengers now have to present their pressed and loose powder products separately at airport security. This is a similar to the approach taken with liquids, aerosols and gels. Powders which are considered “inorganic” such as salt, talcum powders, powdered deodorant and cleaning products — cannot be more than 350g in total (or 350mL).
New Technology Introduced at Melbourne Airport
New technology being trialed at Melbourne Airport’s T4 domestic terminal takes a CT scan of passengers’ cabin luggage to produce a three-dimensional image of what’s inside, which is a big step up from the current use of 2D imaging. The new security screening at Melbourne Airport will mean that passengers won’t have to present their liquids and gels, or their laptop, for separate screening anymore. This means it’s no longer necessary for passengers to pull their liquids, gels, laptops and large electronic items from their carry-on bags, which may speed up the queues at the security area.
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