Carry-on consternation - bill would have TSA ban bags that are too big from aircraft cabins

June 24, 7:26 AMAirlines/Airport ExaminerJerome Chandler

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Here’s how the dance works: you’re finally on the airplane, getting ready to push back from the gate. Out in the aisle, flight attendants are struggling to cram carry-ons into the overhead bin. There’s not enough room. That means they have to offload the offending hand luggage to the cargo hold – and that takes time, perhaps triggering a delay. 

“Carry-on baggage is a multifaceted problem onboard aircraft today,” asserts Patricia Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. She pins the problem to “lack of uniformity in carrier programs and effective enforcement.”

That’s why the union is sporting a bill by Representative Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) that seeks to standardize carry-on dimensions. Specifically, the legislation would set—and enforce—a rule that would ban all carry-on bags more than 22 inches by 18 inches by 10 inches. They’d be verboten. The measure would also tell the Transportation Security Administration that it would have to use a template to enforce those dimensions. That template would be located at the security checkpoint. If the bag won’t fit inside the box, you can’t put it on the conveyor belt for x-ray inspection.

Friend labels individual airline efforts to control carry-ons “inconsistent, inadequate, confusing and outdated.” Operating, apparently, on the premise that the government will get it right, the flight attendants union wants a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem.

Make no mistake, it is a problem – a problem that’s done nothing but grow since the airlines started charging for checked baggage. Flummoxed flyers tired of being nickeled-and-dimed have found fascinating ways to tote more stuff on board. The idea here seems to be that the feds can do a better job of heading them off before they get to the gate.

Want to make your voice heard on all this? The bill is H.R. 2870, and Mr. Lipinski’s office number is 1-202-225-5701. His Web site is www.lipinski.house.gov.

PHOTO: Security checkpoint at Seattle/Tacoma International. Image courtesy Port of Seattle.