Checks across eight UK airlines find a clear split: Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air charge extra for overhead locker space; Jet2, TUI, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and KLM include it free on every fare, including the cheapest.
[LONDON, 5 August 2026]—Flight Tribe, an independent UK travel deals site, checked cabin bag fees on eight UK airlines. Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air charge extra for a normal-sized cabin bag, on top of the ticket price. Jet2, TUI, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and KLM give you the same size bag free on every fare they sell. Every fee here is published on the airline’s own website.
Ryanair’s free allowance is a small bag that fits under the seat. Anything bigger, the kind that goes in the overhead locker, costs extra: £12 to £36 online, £70 to £75 at the gate. If you haven’t paid for Priority Boarding and the lockers are already full when you board, Ryanair can refuse to carry the bag at all. A Jet2 passenger on the airline’s cheapest fare still gets a full-size bag in the locker for free.
The checks come as Jetstar, the budget Australian airline, announced on 5 August that it’s scrapping its 7kg cabin bag limit from 2 February 2027. It’s adopting the same structure already used by Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air in the UK: a free small bag under the seat, plus a paid option for anything bigger that needs the overhead locker.
Phil Salcedo, founder of Flight Tribe, said:
‘These fees are all published and legal, but they still catch people out. Add a Ryanair cabin bag when you book and it’s £12 to £36. Wait until you’re at the airport and the same bag costs £70 to £75. Pay for the bag you need when you buy the ticket, not after.’
easyJet doesn’t publish a starting price for its large cabin bag. It runs dynamic pricing, so the online cost changes flight by flight. Turn up with the bag unpaid, though, and the price is fixed: a flat £60 at the gate.
Wizz Air calls its equivalent WIZZ Priority. It includes priority boarding and lets you bring a second, larger bag for the overhead locker, on top of the free small bag every passenger gets. Add it when you book and Wizz Air charges €10 to €60, about £9 to £51. Leave it for the airport and that climbs to €65 to €75, roughly £56 to £64.
A free cabin bag doesn’t make an airline the cheaper overall choice. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and KLM include the bag on their most basic fares, but checked baggage isn’t part of those fares and costs extra on top.
Full size and weight limits for all eight airlines, plus airline-by-airline advice, are on Flight Tribe’s Hand Luggage Size Compared tool.
Methodology
Checked directly against each airline’s own website on 5 August 2026, one adult, one bag, cheapest fare where a cabin bag isn’t already included. Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air prices vary by route and date; figures are the minimum and maximum published on the day of checking. GBP figures for Wizz Air are approximate, converted at the exchange rate on the day of publication. Covers cabin baggage only. Airline pricing changes frequently; confirm current fees with the airline before booking.
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Flight Tribe is an independent travel deals website for UK travellers, covering genuine offers on flights, hotels and package holidays. Every price is checked before it goes live, and each deal is reviewed in plain English, with the conditions and any catches made clear, so readers know exactly what they are booking. Run by former journalists and travel industry insiders, and owned by no airline, hotel group or tour operator, Flight Tribe exists to help people find a real holiday for less and book it with confidence.
