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Tue, Jan 20, 2026 | Shaban 1, 1447 | Fajr 05:45 | DXB 
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UAE-India flights: Will airlines implement new cabin baggage rules soon?
'It will apply to all international and domestic flights of Indian carriers,' said one travel agent
Indian airlines will soon begin to strictly implement cabin baggage rules, and travel agents in the UAE have been advising their customers to adhere to them.
On Wednesday, Indian media reported that the country's Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has introduced new rules restricting cabin baggage to just one piece and ensuring that it does not go over 7kg for all its international domestic flights.
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“A circular has been issued regarding this and airlines are planning to implement these rules as soon as possible, according to the information we have received,” said Safeer Mahamood, general manager of Smart Travels. “It will apply to all international and domestic flights of Indian carriers so it is something that passengers travelling from the UAE should keep in mind,” he added.
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However, another expert added that there has been no official communication in this regard but he was expecting the rules to be implemented strictly very shortly. “We have not received any intimation from the airlines,” said Praveen Chowdhary from Saffron Travels and Tourism. “However, we have been sending out messages to all our passengers, giving them the exact dimensions and weight of the cabin baggage that each airline is allowing. We have also been advising them to follow the rules strictly.”
Minimal impact
All the experts opined that this move would have minimal impact on passengers as many airlines have been following these rules even before the circular was issued. “Most airlines have been following these practices for some time so the impact on our customers would be minimal,” said Ramy Badr, sales head of Dopamine Travels.
According to Praveen, the weight of cabin baggage is something that he has been advising his clients to be careful about. “All airlines will allow a laptop bag in addition to the cabin baggage,” he said. “However, earlier it was not a practice to weigh the laptop bag. Now, we are expecting flights to strictly weigh the laptop bags in addition to the cabin baggage. So we have been advising our passengers that they should weigh both bags and ensure that they stay within 7kg or be prepared to pay for excess luggage.”
Safeer added that those impacted would be people who often carry multiple packets on the flight. “There are people who choose to carry things in their laptop bag, backpacks and then plastic bags,” he said. “Such practices will be restricted once the new rules come into place.”
He added that it is very likely that airlines will also begin restricting cabin baggage tags. “We are expecting airlines to be very strict with the number of cabin baggage tags they give out and no luggage may be permitted into the plane without the tags.”
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Nasreen Abdulla
Nasreen Abdulla is a Special Correspondent covering food, tech and human interest stories. When not challenged by deadlines, you’ll find her pulling off submissions on the jiu jitsu mats.
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