Air France shares its hand baggage policy with KLM, which means it shares the two things that confuse passengers most: a cabin bag frame of 55 x 35 x 25 cm that is narrower than the European norm, and a weight limit of 12 kg that is more generous than any other legacy carrier on the continent. The first worries people with a standard suitcase; the second is a gift to anyone carrying equipment. This is the 2026 version of our Air France carry-on guide, rewritten from the ground up: the numbers, the fares from Light to La Première, what the frame means for a hard case, what actually happens at Charles de Gaulle and on Hop regional flights, and which Peli cabin cases fit. ✈️
We sell Peli cases and we will be specific about which ones fit Air France's frame; the rules are Air France's, current as we write, and the airline changes them without much notice, so confirm on airfrance.com before you fly. KLM's allowance is identical and our KLM carry-on guide mirrors this one; for the other big European carrier see Lufthansa carry-on baggage 2026.
The 10 things to know
1. The cabin bag: 55 x 35 x 25 cm 📏
One piece of hand baggage per passenger in Economy and Premium, with maximum dimensions of 55 x 35 x 25 cm including wheels, handles and pockets. The frame is 5 cm narrower and 2 cm deeper than the 55 x 40 x 23 cm most European carriers use, so a suitcase built to the common standard is inside Air France's height and depth and 5 cm over its width on paper. We deal with what that means in practice at point 6.
2. The accessory: 40 x 30 x 15 cm 👜
In addition to the cabin bag, every passenger may bring one accessory of up to 40 x 30 x 15 cm: a handbag, a laptop bag, a small backpack, a camera bag. It goes under the seat in front. The 15 cm depth is more useful than it sounds; a camera bag or a laptop sleeve with a charger fits where Lufthansa's 10 cm would not. The accessory is counted in the weight limit, which is the next point.
Cabin cases that fit Air France's frame
3. The 12 kg limit is combined, and it is generous ⚖️
In Economy and Premium, the cabin bag and the accessory together may weigh up to 12 kg. Not each, together. That is still four kilograms more than Lufthansa and the most generous cabin weight of any major European legacy carrier, and it changes what a hard case can do. A Peli 1510 at roughly 5.4 kg with its foam leaves 6.6 kg for contents and accessory on Air France, where on an 8 kg airline it leaves 2.6. The Air 1535 at 3.95 kg leaves 8 kg. For a photographer or a drone pilot flying to a job, 12 kg is the difference between checking the kit and carrying it. Air France weighs at check-in desks and, on full flights, at the gate; a combined figure over 12 kg means the cabin bag goes to the hold.
4. Light, Standard and Flex: the cabin bag is the same on all of them 🎫
Air France sells European Economy in Light, Standard and Flex fares, and long-haul Economy in a similar ladder. The cabin bag and the accessory are included on every one of them, including Light. Light removes the checked bag, seat selection and refundability; it does not touch the hand baggage. This is the same logic as KLM and Lufthansa, and the opposite of Ryanair, Wizz Air and Transavia France, where the cheapest fare includes only the small under-seat bag. If you travel with one case and a laptop bag, Light is the fare; if you need the hold, Standard is cheaper than adding a bag later.
5. Business and La Première: two bags, 18 kg total 💼
Business and La Première passengers may bring two pieces of hand baggage of up to 55 x 35 x 25 cm each plus the accessory, with a combined weight of 18 kg for all three. As in Economy the figure is a total, not per piece: two 8 kg cases and a 2 kg bag pass, two 9 kg cases do not. Flying Blue status does not add cabin pieces in Economy; the second bag is a cabin-class benefit.
Make the 12 kg count: organisers for the 1510 and Air 1535
6. What the narrow frame means for a hard case 🧱
Air France's frame is 35 cm wide. A standard 55 x 40 x 23 cm suitcase is 40 cm wide and, if it is a hard case, cannot be squeezed. In everyday practice at Charles de Gaulle and Orly a 55 x 40 case is accepted, because the limit Air France enforces hardest is weight and the gate sizers come out mainly on full flights; but 40 cm is 5 cm over on paper and a strict agent on a full flight is within the rules to send it to the hold.
This is where Peli's cabin cases are unusually well placed. The Peli Air 1535 is 55.8 x 35.5 x 22.8 cm, the Peli 1510 is about 55.9 x 35.1 x 22.9 cm and the ATX HC22 is 55.9 x 35.6 x 23.1 cm: all built on a 35 to 36 cm width because they were designed to the older international carry-on standard rather than the 40 cm European one. That is a near-exact match for Air France's frame on width and comfortably inside it on depth. The half-centimetre on the 1535 and HC22 is within the tolerance of every sizer we have seen. If you fly Air France and KLM regularly, a Peli cabin case is one of the few hard cases that is genuinely the right shape.
7. Full flights, CDG and the Hop regional jets 🛄
On full flights Air France gate agents ask for volunteers to have cabin bags loaded into the hold free of charge, and assign it if there are not enough, usually from the last boarding zones. The bag returns on the belt at your destination. Two consequences: nothing valuable, fragile or battery-powered in a cabin bag that could be gate-checked, which is what the accessory is for, and a hard case with latches survives a surprise trip through the hold in a way a soft bag does not; what the hold does to a bag is in what really happens to your suitcase after check-in. The sharp end is the domestic and regional network flown by Air France Hop: Embraer and CRJ bins take a 55 x 35 case lying on its side only, and gate-checking is routine on those flights. If your journey to a long-haul flight begins in Nantes or Toulouse, plan for the case to spend the first leg in the hold.
8. Liquids, electronics and batteries 🔋
Security at CDG and Orly follows the European rules, and both airports have been installing CT scanners lane by lane, so at some checkpoints liquids and laptops stay in the bag and the 100 ml rule is relaxed, and at others it is not; assume 100 ml unless the lane says otherwise, and remember that the airport you fly back from may be stricter. How liquid limits work at different airports keeps track. Power banks and spare lithium batteries must be in the cabin, never in the hold, and must come out of a bag before it is gate-checked; the thresholds are in our power bank guide. The prohibited-items list is the standard European one, covered in prohibited items in hand baggage.
9. Exceeding the limits: what it costs 💶
A cabin bag that is over size or over weight at the gate goes into the hold as an additional checked bag at the airport rate, which on a Light fare with no hold bag included is the most expensive way to buy one. Air France publishes its baggage fees by route and they change; the rule that does not is that a bag added at booking costs less than at check-in, which costs less than at the gate. How to avoid baggage fees compares carriers.
10. Air France, KLM and Transavia France are not one policy ✈️
Air France and KLM share the 55 x 35 x 25 cm, 12 kg allowance and the 40 x 30 x 15 cm accessory, so a mixed itinerary has one set of rules. Transavia France, the group's low-cost carrier out of Orly, does not: its base fare includes only a small under-seat bag and the cabin bag is a paid add-on, the way it is on Ryanair. Air France increasingly books passengers onto Transavia-operated flights within Europe; check the operating carrier on each segment, because a case that flies free on the Air France leg may be paid on the Transavia one.
Air France carry-on rules at a glance
| Fare or cabin | Cabin bags | Max size each | Accessory | Combined weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy Light | 1 | 55 x 35 x 25 cm | 40 x 30 x 15 cm | 12 kg |
| Economy Standard / Flex | 1 | 55 x 35 x 25 cm | 40 x 30 x 15 cm | 12 kg |
| Premium (long-haul) | 1 | 55 x 35 x 25 cm | 40 x 30 x 15 cm | 12 kg |
| Business | 2 | 55 x 35 x 25 cm | 40 x 30 x 15 cm | 18 kg |
| La Première | 2 | 55 x 35 x 25 cm | 40 x 30 x 15 cm | 18 kg |
Rules as published by Air France at the time of writing in 2026; airfrance.com is the final word for your flight.
If you booked Standard: checked cases for the hold
How to use 12 kg well
- Weigh the case and the accessory together. Air France's limit is combined; a heavy laptop bag counts.
- Put the camera or the drone in the cabin case and the clothes in the hold if you have one; the kilograms are there for the equipment.
- Use the 15 cm accessory depth for the camera bag or the laptop sleeve with its charger.
- Batteries and valuables in the accessory, so that a gate-check on a full flight costs you nothing.
- Liquids within 100 ml unless the lane at CDG or Orly says otherwise; the return airport may not have CT lanes.
- Case on its side for Hop. Regional jet bins take 55 x 35 lying down, not standing.
- Weigh it at home. A luggage scale is cheaper than one airport-rate bag.
Air France against the others
| Airline | Cabin bag in the base fare | Size | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air France / KLM | Yes, on every fare | 55 x 35 x 25 cm | 12 kg combined |
| Transavia France | No, paid | 55 x 35 x 25 cm | 10 kg |
| Lufthansa | Yes | 55 x 40 x 23 cm | 8 kg |
| easyJet | No, paid; free bag 45 x 36 x 20 | 56 x 45 x 25 cm | 15 kg |
| Ryanair | No, with Priority only | 55 x 40 x 20 cm | 10 kg |
| Vueling | No, paid on Basic | 55 x 40 x 20 cm | 10 kg |
The pattern: Air France gives you a narrow frame and a generous weight on every fare. Lufthansa gives the common frame and 8 kg. The low-cost carriers give kilograms and charge for the bag. Which suits you depends on whether your problem is width, weight or money.
Frequently asked questions
What size hand luggage does Air France allow in 2026?
One cabin bag of up to 55 x 35 x 25 cm plus one accessory of up to 40 x 30 x 15 cm, together weighing up to 12 kg in Economy and Premium. Business and La Première allow two cabin bags plus the accessory, 18 kg combined.
Does Air France Economy Light include hand luggage?
Yes. Light removes the checked bag and flexibility; the cabin bag and accessory are the same on every fare.
Will a 55 x 40 x 23 suitcase be accepted on Air France?
On paper it is 5 cm too wide. In practice it is usually accepted, but on a full flight a hard case of that width can be sent to the hold. A case built to 55 x 35 is the safe choice.
Which Peli case fits Air France's 55 x 35 x 25?
The Air 1535, the 1510 and the ATX HC22 are all 35 to 36 cm wide and around 23 cm deep, which matches Air France's frame more closely than a standard European cabin case.
Is the 12 kg limit per bag or combined?
Combined. The cabin bag and the accessory together may weigh 12 kg in Economy; in Business and La Première, two cabin bags and the accessory together may weigh 18 kg.
Are the rules the same on KLM and Transavia?
KLM, yes: identical dimensions, accessory and weights. Transavia France, no: the cabin bag is a paid add-on on its base fare.
Can I bring duty-free purchases in addition to my cabin bag?
Yes, in the sealed tamper-evident bag from the shop, in addition to the cabin bag and accessory, subject to space on board.
The short version
Air France gives you 55 x 35 x 25 cm and 12 kg combined with a 40 x 30 x 15 cm accessory on every fare, 18 kg and two bags in Business and La Première, and enforces the weight more than the width. A standard 55 x 40 case is over on paper; a Peli cabin case at 35 to 36 cm wide is the right shape. Weigh the case and the accessory together, keep batteries and valuables in the accessory, lay the case on its side for Hop, check whether your European leg is really Transavia, and CDG is a manageable airport to fly hand-luggage-only from. 🌍
