Bringing Your Camera in Flights

At times when you wish to bring your photographic equipment in an air trip, it is best to hand-carry it instead of putting it into checked-in luggage, together with you into the cabin.  This is to avoid the risk of getting damaged as checked-in luggage can potentially be mishandled and, in extreme cases, got lost.

If you check the camera bag as checked-in luggage, there is no guarantee that it will be handled with care even if it has “fragile” stickers attached. Cameras are fragile items and can easily get broken if mishandled. You should not take such chances. However if you have it properly packed in a rugged hard-shell bag, your camera might stand a good chance of surviving but there is still the possibility of it getting stolen or lost. There have been reported cases of theft involving passengers’ baggage and if you still want to put your camera as checked-in luggage please ensure it is well secured and locked.

People usually carry 2-3 bags when travelling by air. You can stuff clothing and other less valuable items into the checked-in luggage. All your photographic equipment should be grouped together and carried with you into the cabin. Take note that the hand-carry baggage should exceed the specified dimension of 56cm x 36cm x 23cm. The bag should fit into the baggage compartment above the seats or can be tucked underneath the seat in front of you.

As for an example, at the time of writing, Air Asia allows one hand-carried baggage not exceeding 7kg. Malaysia Airlines put the limit at 5kg for Economy class and allows addition accessories such as a hand bag or a carried camera. Their First Class and Business Class passengers are allow 2 bags of 5kg limit each. In practice it boils down to the flight attendants’ discretion whether to allow extra hand-carry baggage or not to be strict on the allowed weight. Yet the best way to avoid any inconvenience is by following the guideline from the beginning.

For the latest information of baggage guideline, please refer to your carrier’s website and ticket fine prints on terms and conditions. Above all, most importantly is to always carry your camera equipment with you when boarding.

Original article from fototeacher.com/blog by Hasnuddin Abu Samah. Translated by Amir Ridhwan

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