40 x 30 x 20 Cabin Bags

40 x 30 x 20 cm is the free under-seat allowance on Ryanair, Jet2, TUI and Wizz Air, and comfortably inside easyJet's 45 x 36 x 20. It has become the de facto UK standard by agreement rather than by rule.

Most bags sold as 40 x 30 x 20 measure the fabric panel rather than the packed object with its straps on. We measure the way a gate sizer does.
  • Every allowance read from the airline's own page
  • Checked 14 September 2026 and rechecked monthly
  • Not affiliated with any airline
  • Every row links to the carrier so you can see it yourself

Free under-seat allowance, by airline

Airline Free under-seat bagChecked
easyJet Free small cabin bag, 15 kg45 × 36 × 20 cmYes14 Sep 2026
Ryanair Free small personal bag40 × 30 × 20 cmExactly14 Sep 2026
Jet2 Free under-seat bag40 × 30 × 20 cmExactly14 Sep 2026
TUI Free personal item40 × 30 × 20 cmExactly14 Sep 2026
Wizz Air Free carry-on bag, 10 kg40 × 30 × 20 cmExactly14 Sep 2026
British Airways Handbag or backpack, last known40 × 30 × 15 cmOverhead13 Sep 2026

Airlines set these allowances and can change them without notice. We are not affiliated with any airline.

About the British Airways row. BA have withdrawn the hand baggage allowances page we used to read, and now publish the figure through an interactive baggage calculator instead of on a page we can link you to. The figure shown is the last one we read from them, on 13 September 2026, and we have left it here because it is more useful than a blank. Treat it as the last known figure rather than a checked one, and confirm it in BA's own calculator before you fly.

Which airlines use this exact number

Four of the six UK carriers we track: Ryanair, Jet2, TUI and Wizz Air. All four set the free under-seat bag at 40 x 30 x 20 cm, on every fare, and all four are linked in the table above so you can read it on their own page rather than ours.

No regulator set that number. It spread because the carriers converged on it, which is why you now see it printed on bags, on gate sizers and in fare terms. It is a standard by agreement.

The other two are easyJet at 45 x 36 x 20, which a 40 x 30 x 20 bag clears comfortably, and British Airways at 40 x 30 x 15, which it does not.

Most bags sold as 40 x 30 x 20 are not

The number on the label is usually the fabric panel. The number that matters is the packed object: straps, handles, zip pulls, the lot.

Those are different measurements and the gap between them is not small. A shoulder strap sitting proud of the back panel adds a centimetre or two of depth on a bag where the entire allowance is twenty. A bulging front pocket does the same again.

It matters more at this size than at any other, because on four carriers 40 x 30 x 20 is the limit exactly rather than a size comfortably inside it. There is no slack to absorb a mistake.

So measure the whole object, with the bag packed the way you will fly with it, and flatten the straps first.

Is 40 x 20 x 25 the same thing?

No, and this is the most common mix-up on the whole subject.

Ryanair's older help articles and some fare-bundle pages still carry 40 x 20 x 25. Their current Bag Policy page says 40 x 30 x 20. The current page is the one that governs.

The practical difference is real. A bag bought to the older figure is ten centimetres narrower than your fare already allows, so you are carrying less than you have paid for.

Jet2 have a version of the same problem: their FAQ section says 40 x 30 x 15 while their main baggage page says 40 x 30 x 20. The baggage page is current.

If you already own a bag at the old size, it still goes in. The full working, and why it does not work the other way round, is in 40x20x25 or 40x30x20.

Before you buy anything

Measure it the way the gate does

  1. Pack the bag the way you will actually fly with it. An empty bag measures smaller and tells you nothing.
  2. Flatten the straps against the back panel. Gate sizers make no allowance for a strap sticking out.
  3. Measure the widest point of each face, handles and pockets included. Not the fabric panel, the whole object.
  4. Compare against the airline you are flying, not the one you flew last time.

Bags built to the number

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  • TAKT 20 under-seat cabin backpack in Rose, three-quarter front view
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    TAKT 20 Under-Seat Cabin Backpack

    TAKT 20 Under-Seat Cabin Backpack
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People are asking

Questions about this allowance

Why do so many bags say 40 x 30 x 20?

Because four of the six carriers in the table above set exactly that: Ryanair, Jet2, TUI and Wizz Air. easyJet allows more, at 45 x 36 x 20. It has become the de facto UK standard by agreement between airlines rather than by any rule.

Is 40 x 20 x 25 the same thing?

No, and this one catches people out. Ryanair's older help pages still carry 40 x 20 x 25. Their current Bag Policy page says 40 x 30 x 20. Buy to the older number and you are buying a smaller bag than you are entitled to.

Does the size include handles and straps?

Assume yes. easyJet says so explicitly in the allowance itself. A gate sizer has no way of ignoring a strap, so flatten them against the back panel and measure the widest point of each face.

Will a 40 x 30 x 20 bag fit British Airways?

Not as the personal item. British Airways sets 40 x 30 x 15, so a bag 20 cm deep is 5 cm too deep. It goes in the overhead locker instead, where BA allows a larger cabin bag.

Do I still get a second bag with it?

On most carriers, yes, where they allow a free under-seat bag alongside a paid cabin bag. Every row in the table above links to the airline's own page so you can check the fare you are booking.

How often do these allowances change?

Airlines change them without notice. We reread every row from the carrier's own page monthly and date it on this page, so you can see when we last looked rather than taking our word for it.

More size guides

Other airlines, other allowances