Bmibaby passengers charged for hand luggage in error

Carrying hand luggage onto a flight can save you money as airlines charge extra if you want to check in hold luggage. Airlines impose a strict size limit on hand luggage, so it's important to measure it before you leave for the airport. Measure it when it's full to ensure it does not exceed the size limit. Sizes may vary between airlines so check the requirement with your particular airline.

Passengers that have recently flown with Bmibaby may have been hit with a £60 fine unnecessarily when their hand luggage items supposedly exceeded the airline's strict size guidelines. But it has been found that the apparatus used to measure the size of hand luggage (which must be 55cm x 40cm x 20cm) does not match the size guidelines.

Bmibaby measuring cages are too small, and due to their rounded corners, hand luggage that was exactly the right size incurred a fee because it wouldn't fit in the cage. The revelation suggests that thousands of passengers could have been fined erroneously.

A Bmibaby passenger, Kiran Somaiya, made the discovery. After he checked in for his flight at East Midlands airport, he was fined for oversized hand luggage after it wouldn't fit inside the measuring cage. He was forced to check the luggage in as hold luggage. Convinced that his hand luggage was the correct size, he tested it in the measuring cage on arrival in Amsterdam. Lo and behold, the hand luggage fit perfectly.

Bmibaby has admitted that the hand luggage measuring cages are incorrect in size, and they will be replacing them at all of the 30 UK airports that they fly out from. A BBC Watchdog programme, that aired last night, suggested that the airport staff knew that the measuring cages were the wrong size.

A Bmibaby insider commented on the issue: 'I think all staff were aware they were too small. Everyone was gossiping. Someone got a physical measuring tape and found it was too small. We spoke to our line managers, and they were aware and passed it on higher.' It's a wonder how much longer the too-small cages would continue to be used if Mr Somaiya hadn't voiced his discovery.

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