Airlines are cracking down on hand luggage passengers – with some looking to scrap overhead lockers entirely

AIRLINES are getting stricter with their hand luggage rules, with some people even calling for it to be scrapped.

Trying to fit all your luggage into a tiny hand luggage-sized suitcase can be a nightmare, especially when going away for a longer period of time.

However, most passengers prefer the convenience of having their bags with them on the plane, meaning they're ready to head straight through the airport after they land.

What's more, checking in luggage costs passengers more money, so only flying with hand luggage makes things a little cheaper.

There's also the risk of your luggage going missing when checked in.

Yet travelling with only hand luggage has its problems - especially with airlines becoming more diligent with their size checking.

Passengers are often now required to make sure their bags fit in the luggage size checker before they're allowed to board the plane with them.

Anyone whose bags are too big will then be charged to have them added to the hold - sometimes a small fortune as well.

The steps are being taken to minimise the amount of clutter on board planes.

According to , planes aren't designed to carry as much as they are now with passengers carrying "more and bigger stuff than the aircraft can accommodate". 

This has even led to some experts calling for the overhead bins and hand luggage to be scrapped - with a view to having carry-on-free flights in the future.

David Young, a designer who has worked on cabin features for Teague for 20 years, told the publication that something needs to change.

The company has been working on designing cabins without any overhead lockers at all, coming up with different ideas about where luggage could be stored.

He said: "I’d say we’re at a breaking point. We’ve hit as big as we can go.

“Maybe we don’t need carry-ons at all. Someone needs to step out and say, ‘We’re not doing this anymore. This isn’t the right experience for air travel.’”

Instead of the current system, David proposes either dropping bags off earlier, or boarding the plane with them and personally lowering them down into the hold through the cabin floor. 

In a bid to get around strict hand luggage rules, people have shared sneaky hacks on Tiktok to get more luggage on board.

Some of those include stuffing pillow cases or neck pillows with extra clothing, or hiding smaller bags with extra items in under big coats.

However, there are airlines that incentivise their staff to find people trying to get extra luggage onto planes.

A spokesperson from American airline Frontier told  last year that the carrier paid bonuses to airline staff for every bag they charge extra for.

They said the fee is “simply an incentive for our airport customer service agents to help ensure compliance with our policies and that all customers are treated equally”.

Meanwhile, this Ryanair passenger took drastic measures when he was told his suitcase was too big.

And here are some of the best bags that won't break the bank and fit the hand luggage requirements.