What you pack in your carry-on bag can make the difference between a comfortable flight and a stressful one, and ensures you have your essentials even if your checked luggage is delayed. This guide explains the carry-on essentials for the plane. Pack these in your hand luggage, within your airline's allowance and the airport's liquids rules, so you have everything you need on the journey and are covered if your hold bag goes astray.
Travel documents
Your travel documents are the most important carry-on items: passport, boarding pass, any visas, and booking confirmations. Keep them secure and easily accessible, as you will need them throughout the journey. Our guide on the before-you-go checklist covers documents. Never put your essential travel documents in checked luggage, as you need them with you and could not travel without them. Keeping your passport and boarding pass safe and to hand in your carry-on is the top priority, as these are the documents the whole journey depends on.
Money and cards
Keep your money and cards in your carry-on, never in checked luggage, so they are secure and available for the journey and on arrival. Carry a sensible mix and a backup kept separately. Having your money and payment cards with you in the cabin protects them and means you can pay for anything you need en route or when you land. Keeping your money secure in your hand luggage, rather than risking it in a checked bag, is essential, as it is both valuable and needed throughout your travels.
Medication
Always carry essential medication in your hand luggage, so you have it during the journey and if your hold luggage is delayed or lost. Take enough and keep it in original packaging with any documentation. Our guide on taking medication abroad covers the rules. Keeping your medication in the cabin, never in checked bags, ensures you are not left without it if your hold luggage goes astray, which is particularly important for anyone who relies on regular medication, so make this a firm rule when packing.
Electronics and chargers
Pack your phone, and any other devices you want, along with their chargers and a power bank, in your carry-on. Devices are valuable and useful on the journey, and you will want them charged on arrival. Keeping your electronics and chargers with you protects these valuable items and means you can use them in transit and have them ready when you land. A charged phone and a power bank are especially valuable for staying contactable and finding your way, so carry them and their cables in your hand luggage.
Entertainment
Bring entertainment for the flight, such as downloaded films, music, a book or e-reader, or games, especially for long journeys. This makes the time pass more pleasantly. Our guide on surviving a long-haul flight covers keeping comfortable. Packing things to keep you occupied, much of which fits on a phone or tablet, helps you enjoy or simply get through the journey, particularly on long flights. Having your own entertainment ready means you are not reliant on what is provided, which is well worth a little preparation.
Snacks and water
Pack some snacks for the journey, and buy water after security to stay hydrated, as flights can leave you hungry and dehydrated, and food may be limited or pricey. Familiar snacks are especially useful for children. Bringing your own snacks, and staying hydrated with water bought once through security, keeps you comfortable on the journey. Having something to eat and drink to hand, rather than relying on what is available, helps you avoid hunger and dehydration on the flight, making the trip more pleasant.
A change of clothes
Pack a change of clothes, or at least essentials like clean underwear, in your carry-on, so you have something fresh if your hold luggage is delayed or you spill something. This is a sensible precaution. Having a basic change of clothes with you means a delayed checked bag, or a mishap on the journey, does not leave you stuck in the same clothes. Including a few clean essentials in your hand luggage is a simple safeguard that can save real inconvenience if your main luggage does not arrive with you.
Toiletries within the rules
Pack a few essential toiletries in travel sizes within the liquids rules, such as items to freshen up on a long flight, in your clear bag. Remember the limits on liquids in hand luggage. Our guide on hand luggage packing tips covers the liquids rules. Bringing a small selection of compliant toiletries lets you freshen up on the journey, particularly useful on long-haul flights, while staying within security rules. Keeping these minimal and within the limits avoids problems at security while letting you feel more comfortable in transit.
Comfort items
For comfort, especially on long flights, consider a travel pillow, eye mask, earplugs or headphones, and a layer for warmth, as cabins can be cold. These help you rest and stay comfortable. Our guide on surviving a long-haul flight covers comfort. Packing a few comfort items suited to the length of your flight can make a big difference to how you feel on arrival, particularly for overnight or long journeys. Simple things like a pillow and something warm help you rest and arrive less worn out.
Valuables and important items
Keep all valuables and anything irreplaceable in your carry-on, such as jewellery, important documents, keys and electronics, never in checked luggage where they could be lost or damaged. Our guide on hand luggage packing tips covers this. Carrying your valuable and irreplaceable items with you in the cabin protects them, as checked luggage can be delayed, lost or mishandled. Keeping anything you could not bear to lose or easily replace in your hand luggage is an important rule that safeguards your most precious possessions in transit.
Keep it organised
Keep your carry-on organised so you can find things easily, with documents and items needed at security or in flight accessible, and small items in pockets or pouches. An organised bag reduces journey stress. Arranging your hand luggage so essentials are easy to reach, rather than buried, makes going through the airport and the flight itself smoother. A little organisation, with the things you need most kept handy, means you are not rummaging through your bag at awkward moments, which makes the whole journey easier.
Stay within your allowance
Remember that everything in your carry-on must fit within your airline's hand luggage size, weight and bag-number allowance, which varies by airline and fare. Packing your essentials within these limits avoids charges or having to check your bag. Our guide on hand luggage rules and allowances explains. Balancing all your carry-on essentials against your airline's specific allowance, and checking it before you travel, ensures your bag is accepted as hand luggage, so prioritise the most important items if space or weight is tight and keep within the rules.
In short
Your carry-on essentials are your travel documents, money and cards, medication, electronics and chargers, all of which should never go in checked luggage. Add entertainment, snacks and water, a change of clothes, a few toiletries within the liquids rules, comfort items for long flights, and any valuables. Keep everything organised and accessible within your airline's allowance. Packing these in your hand luggage ensures a comfortable journey and means you are covered if your hold luggage is delayed.
Find more in our Packing & Before You Go guides.