Another traveller claimed a similar thing had happened in a Vancouver airport the day before.
Air Canada passengers must ensure their cabin bags are light enough to lift into the overhead bins and no larger than 55cm x 40cm x 23cm. One additional personal item can be taken too but it must be smaller than 33cm x 43cm x 16cm and fit under the seat in front of you.
Air Canada has not changed its policy, according to local news website Daily Hive, but said airport workers were reminding people of the limits so storage space could be shared fairly.
Responses to Hirsch’s tweet were divided. Some believed airlines’ poor track record with luggage and high fees had pushed people to stretch their carry-on limits.
“If they [airlines] stopped charging for checked baggage [an obvious cash grab] and stopped losing checked bags, people wouldn’t feel the need to bring everything in a carry on,” they wrote.
“If the airlines didn’t continually lose suitcases and airports didn’t routinely botch their baggage handling services, then too much baggage up top wouldn’t be an issue,” another agreed.
Others, however, sided with Air Canada and Hirsch. Many complained they couldn’t fit their regulation-sized carry on onto the plane because other people had brought larger bags on board.
“My biggest pet peeve is when the overhead compartment above my seat is already filled because other people carry on way too much stuff. I side with AC on this,” one person commented.
“I travel really lightly and it’s such a pain, I usually end up having to gate check my bag because there’s no room in the overhead bins,” another added.
One traveller noted how it was “ridiculous” people had to pay for carry on bags but suggested everyone should already be well aware of carry on restrictions.
