Hit a snag at check-in? Here's what to do when your suitcase weighs too much (2024)

With so many things to remember for a flight these days, chances are weighing your luggage at home skips your mind.

Somehow it’s on the list of things my father religiously does before any flight – probably due to my mother’s capability to smuggle too many souvenirs.

There’s nothing worse than standing at the front of the check-in queue, swinging open your suitcase and shuffling things between bags to even out the weight. I’ve done it with a baby in tow and it wasn’t fun. Between the embarrassment of my far from Marie Kondo organisation and death stares from passengers waiting to check in, it’s perhaps one of the most annoying airport situations.

So what do you do when your suitcase is overweight at the airport?

Share the load

If a friend or family member dropped you at the airport and is still with you at the check-in, you can ask them to take some things home with them. Otherwise, if you’re flying with someone else and their luggage is underweight you can transfersome items into their suitcase.

Add it to your hand luggage

Depending on how heavy your hand luggage is and how strict the airline is on weighing it, you can transfer some small but weighty items into your handbag. Just make sure you don’t get sprung at the gate for overweight hand luggage. You’ll be dodging one fee to cop another.

Wear everything you own – or the heaviest stuff

Partly a joke, but this may work in dire situations. Give Joey from Friends a run for his money and layer on your bulkiest items of clothing. Wear your heavy winter jackets, swap your sneakers for boots, and layer upon layer of t-shirts and shirts.

Leave the queue and buy another bag to check

You’ll likely end up with something totally overpriced and not to your taste, but it does guarantee your excess items will arrive somewhat safely on the other end. It also requires parking yourself somewhere in the airport, transferring items and queuing up all over again. Don’t forget to label your bag with your name and hotel address at the other end.

Ask a cafe for a garbage bag

Can’t say I recommend this, but it has been done. Some travellers have swapped their carrier-on luggage for a garbage bag donated by an airport cafe. Yes, people will think you are insane, homeless, or both. Take all your valuables and a handful of heavy but small items, shove them in the garbage bag and check in your suitcase and carrier-on. My thoughts and prayers are with you when going through security and explaining why you have a garbage bag – nothing to see here.

Cough up and pay the excess

There’s a weight limit per suitcase, mainly because it becomes a health issue for baggage handlers. Depending on how many kilos over your suitcase is, you might have a few extra kilos spare where you can pay a fee to let your suitcase go through. Sometimes just being ready to hand over your credit card without protest will make ground crew waive the fee.

Abandon some items

Sorry Aunty Sue, no present for you. If you’re really stuck, you might just have to bin some items. Instead of gifts, ditch replaceable toiletries like shampoo, body wash, conditioner and mouthwash you can pick up on the other end.

This article originally appeared on escape.com.au. It has been reproduced here with permission.