Baggage information

To help you prepare for your journey, please read the guidelines in this section about baggage allowance and permitted items.

Restrictions on the carriage of liquids are in place across all airports in the EU, US, Canada and Saudi Arabia.

Find out more about hand baggage restrictions and the carriage of liquids

Make sure you have your tickets, passport and other important documents, plus medication, car keys, valuable items and money in your hand baggage (we cannot accept liability for any loss or damage to such items placed in your hold baggage).

In addition to the liquids permitted in one transparent re-sealable bag you can take the following in your one cabin bag:

• Electrical equipment including laptops, mobile phones, MP3 players, portable music and DVD players, digital and film cameras, video cameras - all larger electrical equipment will need to be removed from your cabin baggage and x-ray screened separately
• Essential medicines in liquid form sufficient and essential for the flight in quantities less than 50ml (e.g. diabetic kit), as long as verified as authentic - items must be removed from the bag and placed in a tray and screened separately
• Solid cosmetics e.g compact powder and lipstick (not lip gloss)
• Baby milk and liquid baby food (the contents of each bottle or jar must be tasted by the accompanying passenger) are permitted in the cabin bag

Other items

• All coats and jackets must be removed and screened as cabin baggage
• Items normally carried in cabin baggage such as books, medicines in non-liquid form, keys and travel documents may be carried in the cabin bag as long as they fit into the specified dimensions

Pushchairs and walking aids, including wheelchairs are permitted but must be security screened

Please note that if you are travelling from or transiting through an airport where the single hand baggage allowance remains in place, you are only permitted one piece regardless of your personal allowance. 

Limit of ONE piece of hand baggage is retained at:

• Leeds Bradford

If you’re travelling to the U.S., your booking may consist of flights with one or more of the following operating partners:

• United
• Continental Airlines
• US Airways
• Virgin Atlantic
• Air Canada
• Air New Zealand

Please be aware that the hand and hold baggage allowance offered by our flight partners may differ from the bmi allowances shown on our website.

Find out more about the baggage policies of bmi’s flight partners.

Making sure you know your free baggage allowance and what you are permitted to take in your luggage will help your journey through the airport.

If you’re travelling to the U.S., your booking may consist of flights with one or more of the following operating partners:

• Continental Airlines
• US Airways
• Virgin Atlantic
• Air Canada
• Air New Zealand

Please be aware that the hand and hold baggage allowance offered by our flight partners may differ from the bmi allowances shown on our website.

Find out more about the baggage policies of bmi’s flight partners.

All passengers travelling to and from the UK are not permitted to check in any bag that weighs in excess of 32kg (70lbs). 

The maximum weight limit of 32kg for any individual piece of baggage does not relate to your overall entitlement but is a safety measure to reduce injuries to baggage handling staff.  Any item over 32kg should be referred to bmi cargo.

Only customers on connecting flights with itineraries issued on a single ticket with one booking reference will qualify for the through check service subject to minimum connection times. This applies to all connecting flights (bmi to bmi, bmi to other carriers and codeshare flights).

This means that passengers with connecting journeys using separate tickets are not eligible for the facility of the through check-in service or the through tagging of baggage service.

Items that exceed your baggage allowance will be charged as excess baggage.

The above charges in other currencies may fluctuate depending on the exchange rate at the time of calculation.

If you are travelling on non-bmi operated (codeshare) flights, or connecting to a codeshare flight, excess baggage charges will apply and are calculated on an individual route sector basis - please contact our reservations centre on 0844 8484 888 for advice.

If your journey has been booked on a single ticket but requires that you go via another location i.e. Edinburgh-Heathrow-Berlin you will only be charged once outbound and once inbound. If you choose to book the same journey but on separate tickets i.e. Edinburgh-Heathrow and then Heathrow-Berlin, you will be charged £9/€11 per kg for your first sector and £11/€13 for the second sector of the journey.

If you find that your baggage is damaged or has not arrived at the baggage arrivals, please contact a bmi staff member immediately.  Details of your baggage will be taken and assistance offered.

If your baggage is delayed, you will be given a ten-character WorldTracer reference number. We will start to trace your bags and when found we will contact you and arrange a convenient time for delivery.

You can check the latest update on your delayed baggage by entering your baggage reference number and surname on the World baggage tracer.

If you wish to speak to a baggage agent please telephone the number given to you at the time your baggage was reported missing or call 0844 8484 888.

If you have misplaced your bag or belongings in the airport terminal, please contact the individual airport for assistance.

For safety reasons, dangerous goods as defined in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, such as those listed below, must not be carried in your cabin or checked baggage.

• Explosives - ammunitions, fireworks, flares etc 
• Compressed gases (flammable, non-flammable, deeply refrigerated and poisonous) such as camping gas and aerosols
• Flammable liquids such as lighter fuels, paints and thinner
• Flammable solids such as matches and articles which are easily ignited such as firelighters
• Substances liable to spontaneous combustion
• Substances which on contact with water emit flammable gases
• Oxidising substances (such as bleaching powder and peroxides)
• Poisonous (toxic) and infectious substances such insecticides, weed killers and live virus materials
• Radioactive materials
• Corrosives such as mercury (which may be contained in thermometers) acids, alkalis and wet cell batteries
• Disabling devices such as mace, pepper spray, etc containing an irritant or incapacitating substance are prohibited on the person, in checked and carry-on baggage
• Briefcases and security type attaché cases with installed alarm devices; or incorporative lithium batteries and/or pyrotechnic material except as provided for in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations
• Electro shock weapons (e.g.Tasers) containing dangerous goods such as explosives, compressed gases, lithium batteries, etc.
• Personal medical oxygen devices that utilise liquid oxygen
• Magnetised materials and miscellaneous dangerous goods as listed in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations

Please note: One small packet of safety matches or a cigarette lighter that does not contain unabsorbed liquid fuel, other than liquified gas, may be carried about your person. Strike anywhere matches and "Blue flame" or "Cigar" lighters are forbidden on all air transport. Cigarette lighters should have two independent actions by the user to activate ignition.

You may take non-radioactive medicinal items or toiletries (including aerosols) like hairsprays, perfumes, colognes and medicines containing alcohol, in limited quantities in your checked and hand baggage:

• Single articles must not weigh more than 0.5kg or 0.5 litres (1.1lb or 1pt).
• Combined articles must not weight more than 2.0 kg or 2.0 litres (4.4lbs or 2.0qt)
• Release valves on aerosols must be protected by a cap or other suitable means to prevent inadvertent release of the contents

Please note that some of the quantities stated above are further restricted by current security restrictions, if these items are carried as hand baggage.

You must be aware that items such as the following need to be approved by us at least 48hrs in advance prior to carriage. Failure to seek prior approval may result in the item not being permitted for travel.

It is also important to note that customers with onward connections on other airlines must obtain a separate approval for their item from the other airlines involved.

• Firearms and ammunition
• Carbon dioxide, solid (dry ice)
• Battery-powered wheelchairs (with non-spillable, spillable or lithium batteries) or other similar mobility aids for use by passengers whose mobility is restricted by either a disability, their health or age, or a temporary mobility problem
• Heat producing articles
• Mercury barometer or thermometer
• Lithium-ion batteries with a Watt-hour rating exceeding 100Wh but not exceeding 160Wh for portable electronic devices
• Life jacket with non flammable gas cylinder(s) fitted
• Oxygen or air, gaseous, small cylinder(s) required for medical use not exceeding 5Kg gross weight
• Portable medical electronic devices (Automated External Defibrillators (AED), Nebulizer, Oxygen Concentrators (POC), Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machines (CPAP) containing lithium metal or lithium ion cells or batteries
• Avalanche rescue backpack
• Chemical agent monitoring equipment
• Insulated packages containing refrigerated liquid nitrogen
• Camping stoves and fuel containers that have contained a flammable liquid fuel.

Firearms and other weapons are subject to a £50 handling fee for each item and in each direction of travel, but are carried free of charge on bmi Regional services. The firearm will be carried subject to correct documentation and clearance by Customs or the Police and certain conditions including the following: the firearm is unloaded with all ammunition packed separately (max 5kgs); and the firearm packed in a strong box made of metal or fireboard.

Firearms are carried free of charge on bmi Regional services, but only if within your baggage allowance.

Please contact reservations on 0844 8484 888 if you have any queries about baggage.

Provisions for Dangerous Goods Carried by Passengers or Crew (Table 2.3.A) 2012 (.pdf download)

Where possible, put all liquid items in your hold baggage. This includes water and other drinks, creams, sprays, pastes and gels. 

If liquid is to be carried on to the aircraft you must ensure:

• The liquid is in a container with a capacity no greater than 100ml (or equivalent)
• The containers are all contained within one closed transparent re-sealable plastic bag (such as a re-sealable freezer bag or zip top bag) which itself must not exceed 1 litre in capacity or 20cm x 20cm
• The contents of the plastic bag fit comfortably within it, and the bag is completely closed.

The plastic bag must be taken out of your cabin bag and placed in a tray for x-ray screening.  In this case ‘liquids’ include gels, pastes, lotions, liquid/solid mixtures and the contents of pressurised containers, e.g. toothpaste, hair gel, drinks, soups, syrups, perfume, deodorant, shaving foam, aerosols, etc.

This requirement is in place across all airports in the EU, US, Canada and now Saudi Arabia including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

Safety regulations affecting the carriage of liquids in hand baggage are in place at Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam airports in line with current UK regulations.  No liquids exceeding 100 ml may be carried in hand baggage. Up to 10 litres of holy water in a single container (shrink wrapped and secure) is permitted as hold baggage to the UK in addition to normal allowance.  The holy water container cannot be carried as hand baggage.

Passengers may take a small amount of liquids and gels.  Each passenger is limited to one clear plastic zip-top bag that does not exceed 20cm x 19.5cm of travel-size toiletries of 3 ounces (90ml) or less. 

Customers travelling from the USA or Canada who are transferring onto another flight from a UK airport MUST adhere to UK requirements.

We ask for your cooperation in the screening process by allowing sufficient time and being prepared before you arrive at the airport. Only pack essential items in your cabin baggage and pack your liquids, gels and such items in your checked luggage. Please also be aware any previously prohibited items remain in place.

If you are travelling in Business or Flexible Economy you can take a piece of sporting equipment or other exceptional item of baggage as part of your baggage allowance as long as it is within your total allowance.

The following are some of the most popular items that are classed as sporting equipment.

A free winter sports allowance is available for travel between London Heathrow to Basel.

In addition to the normal baggage allowance customers are permitted to take either:

A) One pair of ski boots, one pair ski poles, one pair of skis
B) One snowboard, one pair of snowboard boots.

Infants under 2 years of age are not eligible for the winter sports equipment allowance.

The following items can be paid for online during the booking process or via 'Manage my booking' once a booking has been made.

• Golfing equipment
• Skiing/snowboard equipment
• Bicycles

Please note that if your journey has been booked on a single ticket but requires that you go via another location i.e. Edinburgh-Heathrow-Berlin you will only be charged once outbound and once inbound. If you choose to book the same journey but on separate tickets i.e. Edinburgh-Heathrow and then, Heathrow-Berlin you will be charged £30/€34 per item for each sector of the journey. In this case you would be charged twice on the outbound and twice on the inbound journey.