British airports relax hand luggage rule

A relaxation at some British airports of the one-cabin-bag-only security rule is unlikely to affect procedures at Irish airports.

Airlines operating in Dublin, Cork and Shannon have their own rules for carry-on luggage and Aer Lingus and Ryanair say there will be no change to their policies.

An Aer Lingus spokeswoman said it had long been company policy to allow one piece of hand baggage per passenger up to a maximum weight of 6kg. "Additional items such as cameras, overcoats, personal stereos and ladies' handbags may also be carried," she said.

Up to yesterday the rules at all British airports meant laptops and handbags were considered hand luggage.

A Ryanair spokeswoman said it had always been the airline's policy to allow one carry-on piece of luggage and that would remain the same. "It's been the company policy before and after all the security changes." Ryanair allows a weight of up to 10kg on a cabin bag.

Dublin Airport Authority said it had no policy on hand luggage except to ensure that passengers did not carry prohibited items, and that items went through security X-ray machines.

The rule change in Britain now allows travellers at 22 airports to have two pieces of baggage, rather than one.

Passengers are now allowed to carry an additional briefcase or laptop-sized bag at those airports.

These include Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh airports.

However, the one bag rule remains at 40 airports, including Gatwick. The restriction was introduced following a terrorism alert in August last year.

The British Airports Authority (BAA) said the different situation would not lead to confusion. BAA communication director Tom Kelly told the BBC that "what passengers should do is talk to their airline. That was the position before the restrictions were introduced and that is now the position again."

Restrictions still apply on liquids, with no containers bigger than 100ml allowed and they have to be held in a clear plastic bag.

(Additional reporting by Reuters)