Proposed Bill Could Mean Carry-On Restrictions.

You might have thought that it was just the airlines that were trying to get you with the carry-on rules, but it may end up being the government too. U.S. Representative Dan Lipinski, a Democrat from Illinois, has introduced a bill into congress that would limit the size of carry-on bags. Flight attendants appear to be supporting the bill, meanwhile airlines are a bit cautious on the issue – it’s another law for them to enforce.

However, Lipinski says that the bill would not be enforced by carriers, but instead by the Transportation Security Administration. The new rules would not allow for bags that exceed the following dimensions: 20″ by 18″ by 10″. TSA would use templates on the screening devices to ensure that the bags were the proper size.

“You’ve got people lugging huge bags aboard taking up more than their fair share of space, and whoever gets on last as a result is forced to check a bag,” said Nathaniel Zimmer, a spokesman for Lipinski. “The bigger the bag, the higher the likelihood of some sort of injury.”

Interestingly enough, the size limitations is a good median between what U.S. airlines already use under their carry-on rules. Delta limits customers to a smaller carry-on size, while others, like AirTran, allow larger bags on-board.

To me, it’s just a bad idea. I understand that this bill could “help”, but it hinders more than it helps. The biggest concern is security. TSA already has a tough time managing what’s in people’s bags, and now they have to measure them? Additionally, what about the carriers? Some airlines can’t handle that size due to the overhead bin sizes on various aircraft. The airline policy reflects the aircraft in the airline’s fleet. This appears as an attempt to nudge in a regulation to the airline industry – a regulation that the carriers do not need, nor do they want. The airline-managed system is fine. Despite what the representative says, I don’t see this as a large enough hazard to put government limits on baggage size for carry-ons.