Excess baggage fees on UK budget airlines are one of the easiest ways to blow your travel budget. I've been caught out once -- a Ryanair gate charge for a bag I thought would squeeze through -- and it's a mistake I've not made since. (Gate fees have since risen and are now around £70-£75 on Ryanair.) Here's how to avoid excess baggage fees entirely on UK flights.

Know the rules before you pack

The starting point is understanding your airline's exact free allowance. These vary dramatically:

• Ryanair: 40x30x20cm free underseat bag only. No overhead locker access without Priority.
• easyJet: 45x36x20cm free underseat bag. Slightly larger than Ryanair.
• Wizz Air: 40x30x20cm free underseat bag.
• Jet2/BA/TUI: Cabin bags up to 56x45x25cm included as standard.

If you're flying a budget carrier, any bag larger than these dimensions goes overhead -- and to access the overhead locker, you need to pay. See the full breakdown in our UK airline baggage allowance guide and comparison chart.

1. Choose a bag sized to the free allowance

The single most effective strategy is owning a bag sized specifically for your airline's free cabin allowance. If your bag fits under the seat, you never pay extra. Full stop.

For Ryanair and Wizz Air, the Cabin Max Metz backpack (B0C9QNYJD8) is designed to fit within the free underseat allowance. It looks like a normal backpack but fits within the strictest budget airline sizer. I've taken it through Ryanair's gate check multiple times.

For easyJet's larger free allowance (45x36x20cm), a standard 20-25 litre soft backpack will usually fit. The key is using something soft enough to compress slightly if it's borderline.

2. Use vacuum compression bags

If you need to bring more than a slim backpack, vacuum compression is genuinely useful. You pack your clothes, roll or vacuum out the air, and the bag collapses to roughly half the volume.

The vacuum compression backpack (B0FBWTY3YL) uses this principle in a cabin-sized bag. You can fit what would normally need a medium cabin bag into a much smaller space. I used one for a four-day trip to Prague and got everything I needed into easyJet's free allowance without paying for Priority.

These work best with soft clothing. Bulky items like shoes, toiletry bags, and laptops still take up fixed space.

3. Pre-book hold luggage if you actually need it

If you genuinely need more than a cabin bag, pre-book hold luggage at the time of booking your flight. This is always the cheapest point:

There is no situation where paying at the gate is sensible. If you realise close to departure that you need hold baggage, add it online before you get to the airport -- even the day before is better than the gate.

4. Pack strategically: wear your bulkiest items

Airline limits apply to what's in the bag, not what you're wearing. Your coat, heaviest jumper, and thickest shoes can all be worn through security and onto the plane. Particularly useful in winter when cold-weather layers take up the most space.

It's not glamorous, but wearing three layers through the airport means you can fit everything else into a smaller bag.

5. Ditch the checked bag habit on short trips

Many UK travellers default to checked baggage even for 2-3 night trips. If you plan your packing carefully, most short breaks to Europe are entirely doable with a cabin bag only -- even on Ryanair's strict allowance.

Benefits of cabin-only travel:

• No waiting at the baggage carousel (often 20-40 minutes)
• No risk of lost luggage
• No additional cost on budget carriers
• Faster through arrivals

6. Know what not to pack in your cabin bag

Certain items are prohibited in cabin bags or heavily restricted, which can cause problems at security rather than at the gate:

• Liquids: 100ml limit per container, all in a single clear 1-litre bag
• Power banks: Allowed in cabin bags only, not hold luggage (see our full guide on battery and power bank rules)
• Sharp items: Generally not permitted in cabin baggage

Packing prohibited items means your bag gets held at security, not the gate -- but it can still disrupt your journey and force you to check a bag unexpectedly.

7. Weigh your bag before you leave home

Budget airlines don't always enforce weight on underseat bags, but overhead bags have explicit weight limits -- and if your bag goes into the hold (due to full overhead lockers or a gate check), it will often be weighed. Kitchen scales work fine for a backpack: just hold the bag and step on the scales, then subtract your own weight.

8. Use a foldable duffel as a second item on generous airlines

On airlines like Jet2 or British Airways that allow a cabin bag plus a personal item, a collapsible duffel packed flat inside your main bag gives you extra capacity on the way home. The foldable duffel twin pack (B0B1SY1B8R) is popular for exactly this reason -- useful for shopping trip returns.

FAQ

How much does Ryanair charge for excess baggage at the gate? Approximately £70-£75 for an oversized cabin bag as of 2025/2026. Exact figures vary by route and can increase. This is why fitting within the 40x30x20cm free allowance -- or pre-booking Priority -- matters.

Can I take a backpack and a handbag on Ryanair for free? No. Ryanair's free allowance covers one small personal item only. If you try to board with two bags, staff may ask you to put one inside the other or charge you at the gate.

Does using a vacuum bag actually work for airline size limits? Yes, but only for soft items. Clothes compress well; hard-sided items don't. If your bag is borderline on dimensions (not weight), a vacuum bag won't help with the size sizer -- the bag still needs to fit the frame.

Is it worth paying for Ryanair Priority just for the cabin bag? Sometimes. Priority typically costs £6-£36 depending on route. At the cheaper end of that range it's much better value than the gate fee (£70-£75). If you can travel genuinely light with the free bag, skip it. Check the current Priority price for your specific route before deciding.

See our full breakdown of allowances across all major carriers in our UK airline baggage allowance guide, and the best bags for cabin travel in our best cabin baggage guide.