easyJet's 2026 hand luggage allowance — sizes, fees & the bag to actually buy
Whether you’re heading to Lisbon for a long weekend, Barcelona for a city break or Sicily for a full week under the sun, sorting out your hand luggage is half the battle. If you’re flying easyJet in 2026, here is exactly what fits, what doesn’t, and what the £48 gate fine actually looks like in real life.
easyJet’s 2026 hand luggage allowance in one line
Every standard easyJet ticket includes one small under-seat bag measuring up to 45 × 36 × 20 cm (handles and wheels included) and weighing up to 15 kg. It must fit under the seat in front of you — not in the overhead locker.
If your bag is too big, or you turn up with an extra unbooked item, expect a £48 fine at the gate. No warnings, no exceptions.
Where easyJet sits vs the other UK carriers
easyJet is the middle-of-the-road option — not as generous as British Airways, not as strict as Ryanair.
| Airline | Free personal item | Weight limit |
|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | 40 × 30 × 20 cm | Must fit (no strict weight) |
| easyJet | 45 × 36 × 20 cm | 15 kg |
| TUI (from 1 May 2026) | 40 × 30 × 20 cm | 10 kg |
| British Airways | 40 × 30 × 15 cm (+ 56×45×25 overhead) | 23 kg |
So if you’ve been flying Ryanair with a 40 × 30 × 20 bag, you’ll have plenty of room to spare on easyJet — that same bag fits with 5 cm to spare in every dimension.
What if you need more than one bag?
easyJet offers a paid large cabin bag upgrade: an overhead-locker case of 56 × 45 × 25 cm. Booking it online is significantly cheaper than at the airport, and every large cabin bag comes with Speedy Boarding thrown in — which is worth a few pounds on its own during peak-season boarding chaos.
Our maths: the online large cabin bag upgrade is usually £5–£15 depending on route. The airport gate fee for the same thing is often £48. Book online, always.
The £48 gate fine — what triggers it
The fine is applied when either:
- Your bag doesn’t fit in the metal cage at the gate (45 × 36 × 20 cm), or
- You turn up with two bags when you only booked one allowance.
Staff are strict about this and they hit the cage measurement with the bag horizontal — meaning your bag’s stiffest side has to be under 45 cm, not the collapsed soft side. Buy the right-sized bag from the start.
The bag to actually buy (skip the £185 Antler)
Most travel guides send you to Antler (£185) or Away (£195). Fine bags — but overkill if you’re flying easyJet twice a year and want to avoid the £48 fine.
Our pick: a proper 40 × 30 × 20 cm underseat backpack built to Ryanair’s strictest dimensions. Because it’s smaller than easyJet’s 45 × 36 × 20 cm limit, it fits easyJet, Wizz Air, TUI, Vueling and BA in one purchase. One bag, every low-cost airline in Europe.
Shop our 40 × 30 × 20 cm underseat range →
Use our free cabin bag fit checker to enter your bag’s dimensions and see instantly which airlines it passes.
Pro tips for flying easyJet in 2026
1. Weigh your bag before you leave home
The 15 kg limit sounds a lot but it fills up fast with shoes, gadgets and toiletries. A £4 hand-luggage scale from Amazon pays for itself the first time it stops you re-packing at check-in.
2. Board Speedy — even without paying
Check-in opens 24 hours before flight. Do it the second it opens and pick a seat towards the front — you’ll board earlier and lock in overhead space if you did pay for the large cabin bag.
3. Wear the bulky items
Coat, hoodie, jeans, biggest shoes — wear them on the plane. easyJet can’t weigh or measure what’s on your body.
4. Don’t forget liquid rules
100 ml limit still applies in 2026. Even airports with the new C3 scanners (Heathrow, Edinburgh) are still enforcing the 100 ml cap while the tech is validated.
5. Digital boarding pass
Use the app. Paper boarding passes are only free at the airport if you check them in in advance and print them at home — otherwise it’s a fee.
FAQ
Q: Can I bring a laptop bag AND my personal item on easyJet? A: No. easyJet counts everything as one bag — laptop bag, handbag, tote, plastic duty-free bag. Consolidate before you get to the gate or you’ll be charged £48.
Q: What if my bag fits but is over 15 kg? A: In practice easyJet only weighs bags at check-in for the large-cabin-bag tier. For the free under-seat allowance, weight is very rarely checked unless the bag looks obviously heavy.
Q: Does the 45 × 36 × 20 cm include wheels and handles? A: Yes. Any external protrusion counts. Choose bags that quote “total exterior dimensions” rather than “interior capacity”.
Q: What about children’s bags? A: Each ticketed passenger (adult or child) gets one free under-seat bag. Infants on lap don’t get their own allowance.
Bottom line: easyJet’s 45 × 36 × 20 cm limit is generous — you just need a bag that stays inside it. Play it smart with a Ryanair-compliant 40 × 30 × 20 cm underseat and you’ll never see a gate fine again, on any airline.
Ready to travel lighter? Grab a 40 × 30 × 20 cm underseat backpack — one purchase that passes every low-cost airline in Europe.