Press Release: Aviation Security: European Commission avoids undue operational complications and inconvenience for passengers on cabin baggage size

Initial plans to set legal limits at European level to the size of carry-on cabin baggage in airplanes were withdrawn by a Regulation which came into force on 5 May, 2008. In October 2006, security experts initially advised the European Commission to limit the maximum permitted size of cabin baggage throughout the EU to 56 cm x 45 cm x 25 cm. However, introduction was delayed pending in-depth studies and analysis ordered by the Commission. In its efforts to focus only on the most efficient security measures, the Commission considered that the effectiveness of this measure did not justify the additional costs and inconvenience to airline passengers.