FAA May Adopt Limits for Carry-on Luggage

The Federal Aviation Administration, citing safety and security concerns, said Thursday that it is considering new regulations to limit the size and number of bags passengers may carry aboard airplanes.

Restrictions being discussed would require all of a passenger’s carry-on baggage--whether a single bag or several smaller ones--to fit beneath his or her seat, a space 9 by 16 by 20 inches, the FAA said. The agency also is considering allowing passengers to bring on board one additional hanging garment bag, or comparable piece of luggage, if space on the airliner is adequate.

Number Not Specified

Current FAA regulations do not limit the number of carry-on bags and specify only that such items be stowed under the seat or in a storage compartment. And in recent years, with the rising popularity of soft luggage and many travelers’ trying to avoid long waits at airports for baggage, passengers have become accustomed to carrying more luggage rather than checking it.

Declared Matthew Finucane, director of air safety for the Assn. of Flight Attendants: “We’ve seen people bringing on computer terminals, truck tires, stained-glass windows and Christmas trees.”

But for safety and security, “my instincts are to control excessive amounts of carry-on baggage,” FAA Administrator Donald D. Engen said at a meeting with airline representatives where some of the options under review were outlined.

The FAA’s interest in the issue of carry-on bags was heightened by the hijacking last month of TWA Flight 847 and other terrorist incidents around the world, officials said. In recent weeks, the agency has eliminated curb-side baggage check-in for international flights and has called for tighter screening of passenger bags and cargo.

New regulations for carry-on baggage are expected to be proposed in the next few weeks, but FAA spokesman Fred Farrar cautioned that some of the options could be changed before then. The regulations would be subject to 45 days of public comment before the FAA took final action.

Farrar said the FAA particularly wants to eliminate abuses such as the carrying aboard of large, heavy items such as skis, outboard motors and acid-filled automobile batteries.

Flight attendants have long complained about excess carry-on baggage, saying it can block emergency exits and fall out of overhead bins when planes hit turbulent weather. The flight attendants’ association had petitioned the FAA last August to restrict the volume and size of carry-on bags.

Airline pilots also have complained that excess baggage affects their ability to control the aircraft in an emergency. Pilots’ representatives told the FAA at Thursday’s meeting that, in some instances, excess weight--as much as 2,000 pounds--could make a jet more difficult to handle if it loses an engine or encounters sudden gusts of wind, known as wind shear.

Restrictions Opposed

The Air Transport Assn., which represents the major U.S. airlines, staunchly opposed any new restrictions on carry-on bags.

“The airlines believe that current carry-on baggage regulations, vigorously enforced, assure passenger safety,” association spokesman Thomas Tripp said. “Intrusive new regulations will adversely affect passenger convenience and add unnecessarily to the cost of air travel.”

Tripp estimated that passengers carry on at least one bag and check an average of 1.5 bags. With 1 million passengers traveling each day on 15,000 flights, he said, limiting carry-on bags “would have a major impact on the way we handle baggage.”

“There has been no safety case made for new regulations,” Tripp said. “We don’t need them.”