Passengers forced to put hand luggage into the hold could miss out on compensation if valuables go missing, consumer watchdog Which? has warned.
Which? asked more than 7,000 passengers about flights in the past year and found 26 per cent of Ryanair passengers and 15 per cent of Easyjet passengers, had to check in their hand luggage at the gate due to lack of space in the cabin.
Other carriers making many passengers part with hand luggage on short-haul flights include Aer Lingus, KLM, Monarch and Jet2, the study said.
Rory Boland, Which? travel editor, said: “Plane cabins are not designed to hold a large number of small suitcases so you should be prepared to part with your carry-on bag.
“If you have to put a bag in the hold at the last minute, try to remove wallets, keys, laptops and other valuables.
“If items do go missing from your hand luggage that you had intended to keep with you, do make clear to the airline that you expect compensation.”
The ‘big five’ travel insurance companies – Aviva, Axa, Churchill, Direct Line and LV – all told Which? that valuables placed in the hold are excluded from their policies.
The infographic shows the percentage of respondents who flew short haul, by airline, who were asked to put their hand luggage in the hold.