Malaysia Airlines bans luggage on flights to UK
Malaysia Airlines has told passengers they won’t be able to check in any luggage on their flights to Europe for the time being.
The ban applies to flights to London, Paris and Amsterdam from today.
The airline said it was unable to carry any luggage in the cargo hold due to the fact it is ‘currently operating a long route to Europe’.
It said this, combined with ‘unseasonably strong headwinds’, was limiting its ability to carry luggage.
"This longer flight path consumes more jet fuel and for safety reasons, Malaysia Airlines has had to impose temporary limitation on checked in baggage allowance," it said.
"From tonight, 5 January 2016 (until further notice), the airline will only be able to accommodate cabin baggage of up to 7kg – one piece totalling 7kg per Economy Class passengers and two pieces totalling 14kg (up to 7kg per piece) for Business/First Class passengers."
Passengers will be able to check in luggage but this would arrive later, said the airline.
Connecting passengers travelling on oneworld member carriers with through check in may also have their baggage offloaded due to this operational constraint, it added.
In a statement on its website, the airline said: "Malaysia Airlines will continue to assess the changing situation over the region and will update passengers when operations are back to normal. Safety remains the centre of the airline’s operations."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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