Best cabin bag size for Europe
One cabin bag that clears the overhead-bin limit on European airlines.
Fits the cabin bag allowance on all 26 reviewed airlines in this group. The tightest is Ryanair.
How to use this recommendation
European airlines do not share one mandatory cabin-bag standard. This guide finds the largest rectangular box that stays within the overhead limits of every manually reviewed UK and European carrier in our current comparison group.
The trade-off
The shared result is deliberately smaller than the most generous individual allowance. It is useful when flexibility matters more than maximising one flight, but it may leave unused space on carriers that permit a wider or deeper case.
How we calculated it
We take each reviewed airline’s available overhead allowance, normalise the three outside edges and keep the smallest compatible value on every side. Fare conditions and weight limits remain separate checks and are shown in the table below.
cabin bag limit per airline (26)
| Airline | Limit | Weight |
|---|---|---|
 Ryanair | 55 × 40 × 20 cm | 10 kg |
| Vueling | 55 × 40 × 20 cm | 10 kg |
| Volotea | 55 × 40 × 20 cm | 10 kg |
 TUI Airways | 55 × 40 × 20 cm | 10 kg |
 Virgin Atlantic | 56 × 36 × 23 cm | 10 kg |
 KLM | 55 × 35 × 25 cm | 12 kg |
 Air France | 55 × 35 × 25 cm | 12 kg |
| ITA Airways | 55 × 35 × 25 cm | 8 kg |
 Wizz Air | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 10 kg |
 LOT Polish Airlines | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 8 kg |
 Lufthansa | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 8 kg |
 Norwegian | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 10 kg |
| Eurowings | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 8 kg |
| SWISS | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 8 kg |
| Austrian Airlines | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 8 kg |
| SAS Scandinavian | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 8 kg |
| Finnair | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 8 kg |
 Air Serbia | 55 × 40 × 23 cm | 8 kg |
| Aer Lingus | 55 × 40 × 24 cm | 10 kg |
| Transavia | 55 × 40 × 25 cm | 10 kg |
| TAP Air Portugal | 55 × 40 × 25 cm | 10 kg |
 Iberia | 56 × 40 × 25 cm | 10 kg |
 easyJet | 56 × 45 × 25 cm | 15 kg |
| Jet2 | 56 × 45 × 25 cm | 10 kg |
 British Airways | 56 × 45 × 25 cm | 23 kg |
| Aegean Airlines | 56 × 45 × 25 cm | 8 kg |
FAQ
What is the best cabin bag size for this group?+
A bag no larger than 55 × 35 × 20 cm (21.7 × 13.8 × 7.9 in), up to 8 kg fits the cabin bag allowance on all 26 airlines in this group — the limit is set by Ryanair.
Why not just buy the biggest bag?+
Because the strictest airline in the group wins. A bag that fits Ryanair fits everyone here; a larger one would be rejected or charged there. Buy for the tightest limit and you’re safe on all.
Should I leave a safety margin?+
Yes — measure with wheels and handles, and pick a bag a touch under the limit. A packed bag bulges, and low-cost airlines measure strictly at the gate.