The lawyer warned against trying to carry things on the plane in a neck pillow

Attempts to bring extra items onto the plane, disguising them as a neck pillow, can lead to additional charges or denial of boarding. Ilya Rusyaev, a lawyer and founder of the Rusyaev Club business community, told Izvestia on April 6.

"The idea of deceiving the airline with a neck pillow stuffed with T—shirts and socks looks witty right up to the first meeting with the calibrator at the check-in desk," he noted.

According to the expert, the current rules do not explicitly prohibit the transportation of pillows with things inside, however, restrictions are set through the norms for the number of seats, dimensions and the list of items that can be taken to the salon beyond the norm for free. According to the lawyer, neck pillows are not included in this list, so carriers have the right to consider them as part of hand luggage.

Rusyaev explained that airlines evaluate not the name of an item, but its actual function. If the pillow is used as a bag, it may be required to be placed in the calibrator along with the rest of your belongings or offered to be checked into your luggage for an additional fee.

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Passengers have the right to send claims to carriers, but they can explain the air collapse by force majeure circumstances.

He also added that airport staff have the right to ask for any hand luggage to be opened as part of the inspection. In case of refusal, the passenger may not be allowed to fly.

As the expert noted, judicial practice in such situations is not in favor of passengers. The courts confirm the right of airlines to limit the size and quantity of hand luggage, and also recognize the legitimate refusal of transportation in case of violation of these requirements.

"The consequences for a passenger caught with a stuffed pillow are the same as for any excess. This is an additional payment for excess baggage, a requirement to hand over the item, and in case of refusal to comply with the terms of the contract of carriage, termination is possible under clause 1.4 of Article 107 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation. Simply put, they may not be allowed on the flight," Rusyaev concluded.

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What kind of airliners are we talking about and what fleet does the industry have today?

On September 9, the Russian airline Pobeda changed the rules for the carriage of hand luggage, in particular, the weight restrictions were lifted and the allowed dimensions were increased. The company also clarified that the previous dimensions of hand luggage (36x30x27 cm) remain in force and passengers can continue to use them if the luggage fits into the calibrator without weight restrictions.

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