A FLIGHT attendant has revealed the five big packing mistakes passengers often make – and you’ve probably made one of them.
Cici often shares her tips on her TikTok account Cici In The Sky, and has since revealed some of the silly things travellers do.
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She shared some of her top tips for passengers when travelling, revealed by Insider which will help keep luggage lighter.
1. Packing a bag that is too heavy
While you may want to make the most of your luggage allowance, make sure you can lift it yourself.
Cici said she often saw passengers lug huge suitcases onboard, only for them to be unable to put them in the overhead lockers themselves.
Don’t expect flight crew to help you – most are not allowed due to health and safety conditions if they get injured.
2. Not putting essentials at easy access
A common mistake from passengers is to put all of the essential items you need for your flight – like a book and headphones – in your suitcase.
However, putting that in the locker overhead means you have to then block the aisle to get them back out.
Cici said: “People put things that they need on the plane — like their book and their earbuds or whatever they’re going to need — inside their suitcase, and it’s not easy to access.”
Instead, get a smaller bag and put it below your feet instead, so you won’t have to keep getting up.
3. Packing liquids incorrectly
There is nothing worse than opening a suitcase and finding an exploded suncream bottle in it.
The way to avoid this? Squeeze as much air out of the bottle as possible, Cici advised.
Or if flying with travel sized bottles, go for screw-on caps rather than snap tops as they can form a tighter seal.
4. Forgetting snacks
While most long-haul flights still offer a meal service, lots of shorter haul flights have recently reduced their service of plane food.
And recently, some airlines have even had to pause this – meaning so food served whatsoever.
And Cici added that if there is a lot of turbulence, crew might not even be able to get up to serve you.
To avoid going hungry for the whole flight, take a few snacks and nibbles with you for emergencies such as apples and nuts.
Here are the foods you can take through security.
5. Packing heavy items
If you need to keep your suitcase light, forget packing your coats and boots, and wear them instead.
Cici said she was often shocked by passengers who opted to wear light clothes through the airport even if they were travelling with hand luggage only – when they should wear their heavy clothes instead.
The flight attendant said she often abides by her own rules, once wearing huge boots, jumper and jacket on a recent flight, despite leaving balmy Florida.
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