The personal item on Indian flights: How to use your extra under-seat allowance

You are at the IndiGo gate in Bengaluru with a 40L backpack that reads 8.2 kg on the scale. The agent points at the 7 kg sign. Your laptop, charger and passport are inside that backpack, and the small bag that could have held them is at home.

IndiGo, Air India and Akasa give you a second, smaller allowance for exactly this: a personal item of up to 3 kg that rides under the seat in front of you. Used well, it moves the heaviest things out of your cabin bag legally. The catch: SpiceJet counts it inside your 7 kg, and of these four airlines only Air India publishes a size limit for it.

Here is what each airline actually allows, what counts as a personal item, and how to split your packing so neither bag gets stopped at the gate.

Which Indian airlines allow a personal item on domestic flights?

IndiGo, Air India and Akasa each allow one personal item of up to 3 kg in addition to a 7 kg cabin bag in economy. SpiceJet allows a laptop bag or purse too, but its weight must fit inside the same 7 kg. Only Air India publishes personal item dimensions: 40 × 30 × 20 cm.

All four pages were checked on 12 October 2026. Airlines change these limits, so recheck your airline's page in the week you fly.

The size to plan around

Because only Air India publishes a number, pack your personal item to 40 × 30 × 20 cm or smaller. A bag that fits Air India's published limit has the best chance of passing on airlines that leave the size to the gate agent's judgement.

On SpiceJet, the personal item gives you convenience, not weight. Your cabin bag and laptop bag together must stay at or under 7 kg.

What counts as a personal item, and can it be a small backpack?

A personal item is a small bag that goes under the seat, not in the overhead bin. Air India's list includes a handbag or waist pouch, a camera bag, a laptop in a bag, a coat, a folding umbrella and onboard medicines. IndiGo's wording, "a small bag containing laptop", means a slim daypack can qualify if it is small enough.

Air India's published list

Air India allows one of the following, up to 3 kg:

• A ladies' handbag, purse or small waist pouch
• Binoculars, a camera or a camera bag
• A laptop or notebook in a bag
• An overcoat or wrap, or a rug or blanket
• A folding umbrella
• Medicines needed onboard, such as inhalers
• A reasonable amount of reading material or a small amount of duty-free goods

Note the word "one". A camera bag and a laptop bag together are two personal items, and Air India says anything beyond the cabin bag and one personal item must be checked in.

Why security counts your bags

The limit is not only an airline rule. Air India's page cites the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security's "One Hand Baggage Rule", Circular 6/2000, dated 24 February 2000. In January 2022, CISF asked BCAS to enforce it strictly, noting that passengers often brought two or three bags to screening, and that the rule's exemptions include a lady's bag.

In practice, that means a third bag can be stopped at the security queue, before you ever reach the gate scale.

How should you split weight between your cabin bag and personal item?

Put the densest items in the personal item: laptop, charger, power bank, documents and medicines. They are small, heavy and needed in flight. Keep clothes, shoes and toiletries in the cabin bag, which has the space. Then weigh both bags separately at home, because each limit applies to its own bag.

1. Weigh your empty cabin bag. Whatever it weighs comes off your 7 kg before you pack a single shirt.
2. Move the laptop, charger and power bank into the personal item. Power banks and spare lithium batteries must travel in the cabin, not the hold, as Air India's cabin rules state.
3. Add documents, medicines, earphones and anything you need during the flight.
4. Weigh the packed personal item. Stop at 3 kg, and if you fly SpiceJet, add both bags together and stop at 7 kg.
5. Measure the personal item when full, not empty. A soft bag that is 20 cm deep when empty can bulge past it once the laptop and charger are in.
6. Pack the cabin bag with what is left and weigh it. If it is over 7 kg, move soft layers to your body: wear the jacket and the heavier shoes.

Pick a personal item that stays small

A structured 15 to 20 litre daypack or a laptop sleeve bag is easier to keep within 40 × 30 × 20 cm than an unstructured tote. Check the bag's listed dimensions against that size before you buy it for this job. [CARRYPRO DATA: external dimensions and empty weight of the MOJO V2.0 20L and Trail Hiking Bag 15L, to confirm whether either fits 40 × 30 × 20 cm.]

If a bag cannot meet that size, it is a second cabin bag, not a personal item. Use it as the main bag instead.

What to do before your next flight

Open your airline's baggage page the week you fly and confirm the personal item rule for your fare. Then pack the night before with a luggage scale: laptop kit in the personal item, clothes in the cabin bag, each weighed on its own. For the main bag, our carry-on backpacks and lightweight backpacks are the places to start, and our carry-on size guide covers what fits the overhead bin on each airline.

Frequently asked questions

Can I carry a laptop bag with my cabin bag on IndiGo?

Yes. IndiGo allows one handbag of up to 7 kg plus one personal article, such as a ladies' purse or a small bag containing a laptop, of up to 3 kg. IndiGo does not publish a size for the personal article, so whether it passes as "small" is up to the staff at the airport.

Does SpiceJet allow a laptop bag on top of 7 kg?

No. SpiceJet allows the laptop bag, purse or duty-free bag, but its weight is included in the single 7 kg hand baggage allowance. On SpiceJet's Q400 turboprops the cabin bag must also be smaller, at 50 × 35 × 23 cm, so check your aircraft type when you book.

Is a 20 litre backpack allowed as a personal item?

It can be, if it measures within 40 × 30 × 20 cm when packed and weighs 3 kg or less. Litres alone do not settle it, because shape matters. Measure the MOJO V2.0 or any daypack fully packed before relying on it. [CARRYPRO DATA: MOJO V2.0 external dimensions.]

What happens if my personal item is too big or too heavy?

On Air India, a personal item over 90 cm in total dimensions counts as cabin baggage, so one of your two bags must be checked in. Air India lists a domestic charge of ₹3,000 when combined weight or size exceeds your free allowance. Check your own airline's excess charges before you fly.

Do business class passengers get a bigger personal item?

The cabin bag gets bigger, not the personal item. Air India allows 10 kg in First and Business against 7 kg in economy, but the 3 kg personal item rule and its list of permitted items stay the same.

Does a jacket count as my personal item?

Worn, it is clothing. Carried over your arm, Air India lists an overcoat or wrap as one of the permitted personal items, which means it can use up the allowance you meant for your laptop bag. Wear it through boarding instead.

Sources

• IndiGo, baggage allowance page, checked 12 October 2026: 7 kg handbag, 115 cm, 55 × 35 × 25 cm, plus one personal article up to 3 kg
• Air India, cabin baggage page, checked 12 October 2026: 7 kg economy cabin bag, personal item list, 40 × 30 × 20 cm and 90 cm limits, BCAS Circular 6/2000
• Akasa Air, baggage page, checked 12 October 2026: 7 kg and 115 cm hand baggage plus a personal item up to 3 kg
• SpiceJet, baggage page, checked 12 October 2026: 7 kg including laptop bag or purse; Boeing and Q400 size limits
• Udayavani (PTI), January 2022: CISF asks BCAS to enforce the one hand bag rule