Ryanair Personal Item Size (2026)

Ryanair includes one small personal bag, 40 × 30 × 20 cm, free on every fare, and it must fit under the seat (handbag or laptop bag in Bag Policy examples). The official small bag sizer is 42 × 20 × 30 cm. Fare bundle pages write the same bag as 40 × 20 × 30 cm (same three numbers). There is no published kg limit for this small bag. A 55 × 40 × 20 cm, 10kg bag is not the personal item; that is the Priority overhead cabin bag. Plus still only includes this small bag in the cabin (the extra bag is 20kg in the hold). Fail the sizer and Ryanair may refuse the bag or put it in the hold for a fee. Confirm sizes and fees on ryanair.com before you fly.

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Note: Malta Air’s Terms and Conditions (8.3.1) show 40 × 20 × 25 cm; check your booking if Malta Air operates the flight. Ryanair’s own UK English terms give 40 × 30 × 20 cm.

Wheels and handles: not specified. It must fit the sizer when packed.

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Adding Priority to a Basic ticket means you keep this small bag and also take the 10kg trolley.
If Priority is sold out, the small bag still comes on board; the extra 10kg bag is checked in, not under the seat.
Power banks and spare lithium batteries: carry them on you or in this under-seat bag, not in an overhead cabin bag (Terms and Conditions 8.4.3). This one is easy to miss.

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• This is not the 55×40×20 trolley. Basic flyers packing a cabin suitcase will fail the sizer.

• Plus does not enlarge the cabin bag. The “extra” bag goes to bag drop.

• 40 × 30 × 20 cm and 40 × 20 × 30 cm are the same measurements in a different order, not two sizes. The gate uses the 42 × 20 × 30 cm sizer.

• Soft bags expand. Measure packed.

• No published small bag kg. A “10kg personal item” blog is usually mixing in the trolley weight. Treat that claim with caution.

• Infant has no small bag; 5kg baby bag is extra for the adult.

• 40 × 20 × 25 cm in some older terms or other group airlines’ terms is not the rule Ryanair itself applies from June 25, 2026. Check which airline operates your flight if it isn’t Ryanair itself.

• Duty-free is additional. It is not a loophole to skip the sizer on the personal item.

• If the small bag fails the sizer, the Help Centre points to the Regulations and Table of Fees; there is no separate named “personal item surcharge.” Use the current fees table and the sizer article.

• Official examples lean “handbag or laptop bag.” A backpack is only safe if it still fits the sizer under the seat.

Traveler caution: If it doesn’t sit under the seat on Basic, it isn’t free. Measure packed. Confirm on ryanair.com before you fly. Don’t assume US personal-item inches apply to Ryanair.

What is the Ryanair personal item or small bag size?
Ryanair’s Bag Policy and Terms and Conditions (effective June 25, 2026): 40 × 30 × 20 cm, under the seat. Fare bundle pages list 40 × 20 × 30 cm (same three measurements). Small bag sizers measure 42 × 20 × 30 cm. No kg limit is published for this bag on those pages.

Is the Ryanair personal item free on Basic?
Yes. Basic includes 1 small cabin bag that must fit under the seat, with no additional baggage allowance. The 10kg overhead bag is extra (Priority) or included with Regular, Flexi Plus or Time Saver, not with Basic.

Can I take a backpack as my Ryanair personal item?
Official examples are a handbag or laptop bag. A backpack is fine if packed it fits 40 × 30 × 20 cm and the 42 × 20 × 30 cm sizer under the seat. Ryanair does not publish a separate backpack exception.

Does Ryanair Plus include a bigger personal item?
No. Plus still includes the same small under-seat bag. The bundle’s extra bag is a 20kg check-in bag, not a larger cabin personal item.

What’s the difference between Ryanair personal item and cabin bag?
Ryanair calls the free under-seat item a small personal bag or small cabin bag (40 × 30 × 20 cm). The second bag is the 10kg cabin bag (55 × 40 × 20 cm) in the locker, only with Priority and 2 Cabin Bags. Go by Ryanair’s own bag names; US “carry-on” and “personal item” labels are translations, not names Ryanair prints.

What if my small bag doesn’t fit the Ryanair sizer?
Ryanair’s Help Centre says it can be refused or put in the hold for a fee listed in the Table of Fees and Regulations. You may have to leave it at the steps or the gate trolley. Buy Priority before you travel if you actually have a 55×40×20 trolley.

• Ryanair cabin bag
• Ryanair baggage fees

Fees, fare bundles, and size rules change. Confirm the latest limits and live bag prices on official Ryanair pages before you travel. BagRule is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with Ryanair.