Please note that rules are liable to change without warning, so please check with your preferred airline. This article was published in September 2022 and we have updated it in July 2025 to try to minimise the risk of inaccurate data.
No photographer wants to put a valuable camera kit into the hold. The stories of how the luggage is handled when out of sight, and suitcases travelling on a different holiday to you are widespread. As a result, we're often asked if a bag is suitable for hand luggage, and unfortunately it's not as easy as you might think to answer.
Impact of Dimensions
This is the restriction everyone automatically thinks of.
IATA has traditionally been the industry standard, and their general guide is that the external dimensions of your bag should be no larger than 56cm tall x 45cm wide x 25cm deep. This includes wheels, handles, side pockets, tripods, etc.
However, over time airlines have moved away from a one size fits all solution. For example, at the time this article was updated, EasyJet one of the few airlines that is in line with the IATA guidelines, but Ryannair is 40cm x 20cm x 25cm. Even British Airways has reduced the depth allowed and is now 56 x 40 x 23cm.
As a rule of thumb, the budget airlines allowances tend to be more restrictive, but don't assume this is always the case as Emirates is 55cm x 38cm x 20cm against EasyJet's 56cm x 45cm x 25cm.
The individual airline rules are also constantly changing without notice, so what may be correct today, may change tomorrow so you can't buy a bag and forget about it. We advise you to double check before every trip to avoid the risk of issues arising at the aircraft door.
The key issue for photographers is not normally height or width of the bag, but the depth. With more airlines moving to a maximum depth limit of 20cm it does make carrying a pro-level camera with grip or battery pack attached in a roller case next to impossible.
There is also the risk of under seat luggage which leaves you with much smaller allowance that is generally around 15cm depth, but can be as little as 10cm. For micro 4/3rd kits and smaller APSC kits, this doesn't need to be an issue, but just be aware of the luggage allowance you are booking as it is easy to book in error. Especially on budget airlines when using third party booking sites. I got caught out when travelling on Vuelling having booked my ticket through Expedia and only discovered the issue when I got to the gate. As the flight was full, I had to take out key items to store under the seat, and put the rest of my hand luggage in the hold.
A useful site that summarises the latest allowances across a range of airlines is Skyscanner, but the safest option will always be to check directly with the airline you're flying on.
Impact of Weight
The other consideration that is easy to overlook is weight. I average 6-8 trips a year and in the past my hand luggage was never weighed. More recently, I'm finding a few airlines asking me to put my roller bag on the scales at check in, especially for longer distance flights. A trend that is likely to continue.
When this article was originally published in 2022, British Airways was 23kg, but has now moved to "You must be able to lift it into the overhead lockers" which is great for a weightlifter, but maybe not for all. At the same time Emirates is just 7kg. Interestingly Ryannair has no weight limit.
Given that a roller case will normally weigh upwards of 3kg, and it's easy to pack 5-10kg of camera and personal kit into a bag, it's easy to leave some of the lower limits shattered in seconds. That can lead to some tough choices on what kit to take, but also what bag to buy.
Choosing a bag
In choosing a bag for international travel, many tend to prefer roller (or trolley) bags. These are easy to roll around the airport rather than carry them, and you can often attach a second bag to handles. However, the handle, frame and wheels can add 1-2kg to the weight of the bag. This isn't an issue for airlines like British Airways, but is significant where the airline has a lower load capacity and the bag already weighs 3kg or more.
You also have to consider how you're going to use the bag at your destination. Wheels may be great for the smooth floors of the airline terminals, but less suited to the lumps and bumps of the real world outside. All of our airline compatible roller bags (at time of writing) include an alternative means of carrying it, either by transforming into a backpack or attaching shoulder bag, such as the VEO Select or Alta Fly.
Where the weight limit is lower, or depth is limited, you may be better with a lightweight camera backpack like the VEO Adaptor or VEO Metro. Without the handle, you save both depth and weight, so you have maximum allowance for your camera kit while keeping the protective padding and storage that is designed for photography. You also have a bag to use on location.
As most airlines allow an under seat bag on top of your hand luggage, you can also carry a traditional camera shoulder bag if you just need to carry a smaller kit. On a recent trip to Sri Lanka the VEO Select S7L proved a great choice for my Canon EOS R7 with a Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS lens fitted, a pair of Endeavor ED 8x32 binoculars and accessories like spare batteries and charger, along with a 50cm long travel tripod that travelled in the hold. While the weatherproofing wasn't needed, it kept the dust out when travelling many of the dusty back roads we explored.
Another alternative for smaller kits is to buy an everyday lightweight roller bag without any photographic features, and put your camera in a VEO BIB Bag-In-Bag inside. When you get to your destination you can then use the VEO BIB T as a simple shoulder bag, or the VEO BIB F as a simple shoulder bag or backpack.
Always check with your preferred airline
So with all the variables in mind, we would always recommend you check with your preferred airline in plenty of time before you fly. This will allow you time to find a solution if your current bag isn't suitable.
If you don't have a particular airline in mind, we suggest that you use a website like Skyscanner where you can compare a number of airlines you may use to minimise the risk of choosing the wrong bag.
Tips from other photographers
Over the years of talking to photographers based on their experiences, we have some tips that you may also wish to consider. Some may be obvious, some less so.
If your kit is that significant, pay a little extra to fly on an airline with a larger cabin luggage allowance, or upgrade. A few hundred pounds more on the airplane fare may be less of a loss than to lose a £20,000 camera kit in the hold.
Be selective on what you pack in your hand luggage. Maybe you can't take every lens for every eventuality, but you can take the core kit within the restrictions, and that will allow you to take the majority of shots you planned.
Keep every item that you need to complete your photoshoot with in hand luggage. You don't want to turn up at your destination having put key elements of your kit in the hold, and then find out your luggage has not arrived.
If there are are a few in the group, why not spread out your kit so that you're all within the restrictions, but using your allowances to the max. Products like the VEO BIB bag-in-bag are designed to be lightweight while protecting your camera kit, and fit into a wide range of everyday bags
This has to be at your own risk, and we wouldn't recommend relying on it, but it has been pointed out my many photographers so we thought we'd share. If your bag is only slightly over the limit and looks like it will fit, most of the time you won't be checked. So keep it clean on the outside (no tripod or stuffed side pockets) and if it has the capability, make it look easy to carry (most suggested carrying it as a backpack). Also if the bags a centimetre or so out, then there is a normally a bit of "squish" factor with material handles and empty pockets that normally allows you to fit your bag into the cages they use to check.
Always try to board early, even if you have a bag that is within the airline allowances. As the overhead lockers become full, cabin crew will often take the bags from the last passengers to place in the hold.
In the unlikely event you are stopped at the aircraft door and told to surrender your bag, have a backup plan. For example, you could take a bag that has a removable insert to hold your camera kit like the VEO Active, or have your kit in a VEO BIB Bag-In-Bag, that you can remove from the bag. These are much smaller than the bag itself, and it increases the chance that the cabin crew will let you keep your kit with you in the cabin as it may, for example, be able to store under the seat in front of you.
If you are stopped and don't have a backup plan, be politely uncompromising. Remember, the cabin staff aren't deliberately going out of their way to pick on you, and will understand that you don't want to put an expensive camera kit in the hold, and will look for solutions. However, they are human too, and none of us responds well to threats and attempts to bully or intimidate. The difference is that here that they can go into a rule-based mode that will increase the likelihood of your kit ending up in the hold.
As a last resort, if you can't get your kit into the cabin luggage allowance, then you have little choice but to leave it behind or put it in the hold. In this situation, make sure you have a case that is designed to protect your gear from rough handling on the ground (those "fragile" stickers will probably be ignored), the changes in air pressure as the aircraft ascends/descends (or the lid may decide not to open when you land if it's airtight/waterproof), and be secured with suitable locks (to prevent prying fingers). From the Vanguard range, we would recommend one of the Supreme Cases.
In Summary
Hopefully this article explains why it is difficult for any manufacturer to guarantee whether or not your camera bag will fit into your chosen airline's hand luggage allowance. However, we hope it also gives you some practical pointers to consider so that you can choose the right bag for you, whether it's from Vanguard or any other brand.
If you have any insights to share from your experience, we'd love to hear them. It helps us to design better bags, and may give other photographers ideas too.