This summer more than ever, if you’re travelling by air you’ll want to do it with the smallest, lightest bag or suitcase – and definitely not check it in. Here’s how …
Anya Lakovlieva, who posts on TikTok as @nolimitua, has had 25m views for the airport selfie video she posted last September. It wasn’t owing to a Balenciaga tracksuit or a photobomb by Timothée Chalamet, but because a sneak peek inside her travel pillow revealed she had taken out the foam stuffing and filled it with clothes – to max out a few extra cubic inches of packing space.
If you are rolling your eyes at what sounds like an over-the-top ploy, you might want to read the small print of your holiday flight booking a little more closely. EasyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air now charge hefty fees, not just for luggage stowed in the hold, but for bags and wheelie cases that need to be stashed in the overhead lockers. Only a bag small enough to fit under the seat in front of you is included with most seats. And – just in case you were planning on chancing it – yes, these rules are being enforced. Flying home from Bilbao airport recently, I witnessed first-hand the Ryanair ground crew slapping penalty charges on passengers with trolley cases they hadn’t paid for, some of whom were caught out because they hadn’t realised the rules had changed.
Meanwhile, this summer’s airport chaos is adding an adrenaline spike of will-you-ever-see-it-again jeopardy to the financial cost of checking in your luggage. A shortage of baggage handlers has left passengers at Gatwick facing anxious waits for bags stranded on planes because there are no staff to offload them. On a particularly bad day at Heathrow recently, three-hour queues at the check-in desks left some travellers with a stark choice between missing their flight and leaving their suitcase behind.
Full disclosure. I am not a natural light packer. For many years, my rule of thumb was: if I can lift my own case, I haven’t got enough shoes. So believe me when I say that if I can pack light, anyone can. I have changed my ways, and now I much prefer a streamlined pack – not least because it cuts down on that tedious post-holiday laundry pile. It will also reduce your carbon footprint as a lighter plane uses less fuel. I present: a 10-point plan for your smallest-ever holiday wardrobe.