Come July and Air India, Air India Express passengers from the UAE will face stricter rules on carry-on baggage.
“The free allowance for hand luggage would be restricted to eight kg on Air India and seven kg on Air India Express, inclusive of duty free items,” Khaleej Times reported on Sunday.
According to a senior airline official, the free allowance for hand luggage will be strictly restricted to 8kg and 7kg respectively on these airlines inclusive of duty free items.
A penalty of Dh60 per kilo will be imposed in case if the hand baggage including duty free items weighs more than the free allowance, said Prem Sagar, manager of Air India and Air India Express Dubai and Sharjah.
Until now, UAE passengers flying on India’s national carrier and its budget airline used to benefit from the luxury of carrying duty free items exceeding the free allowance of carry-on baggage for free of charge.
But, this used to go up to more than a few kilos and had become a concern in overloading the aircraft, the official said.
The baggage weighing at the gates policy will begin with flights from Sharjah on July 1.
“Now, we are going to strictly implement it by checking the hand baggage after the passengers purchase products from the duty free shops as well.”
“Most other airlines flying to India have already been charging excess baggage at the gates,” said Sagar.