Blasted hand luggage rules with flying

Booked cruise on royal caribbean with easy cruise. RC and ec been great They are arranging a sharps bin and fridge in my room. Jet 2 not so great - I requested to take an extra bag lap top size with my meds - so 2 pieces of hand luggage. THEY SAID NO! What absolute meanies- I am sure I have flown before probably with BA and took an extra meds hand luggage case. I just would like to keep it separate so I know where I am if you know what I mean. They are so stupid and said I could put my meds in the hold - I said no as they might freeze!!! So I will just have to cram everything into one bag. I’ve also got to let the air hostess on the plane know I am carrying syringes!!! Where’s the sense in that??? Anyone got any wise words to get round it - or a forget it you’ve no chance will do Hugs Minxx

Hey Christ - thanks for this. I was hoping for a bit of disability legislation I could throw at them. I have the necessary gp letter. Jet 2 website says I need to tell air hostess about syringes. So as they’ve been so mean I might tell them just to see the confused look I get! Minxx

When travelling I used to wear a lightweight ‘fishing jacket/waistcoat’ which are festooned with flaps and pockets onto the plane (I admit to lousy dress sense); of course there are more conventional jackets with lots of deep pockets but they would not be suited to Carribean climes. This allowed me to fill all the pockets up with items that would otherwise count against luggage weight allowance and items I didnt want to risk going in the hold. However, though I’m sure it gets very cold in a cargo bay, I would think it most unlikely items in the core of a good sized suitcase carefully surrounded by your clothes etc would fall to freezing temperature because of the insulating effect of those items and the suitcase and other surrounding baggage. You could even put some of that very light silvered plastic wrap (survival bag) around them as an added measure.

I have been looking into this as I feel it is quite ridiculous to put any prescribed medication in hold baggage.

It is not the temperature in the hold as some are pressurised. What if you were going to Rome and your bag goes to Lagos? If you get your bag back; I quoted Lagos as nobody gets their bag back from there; your medication will be useless.

For 26 years I worked at Heathrow BA in Baggage Tracing. The only thing I can suggest is the recommendation from http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Publictransport/AirtravelintheUK/DG_078179 is if it is essential for your journey. The equipment will be screened separately and must be accompanied by supporting documentation from a qualified medical professional, such as a letter from your doctor. If so then as far as they are concerned your extra amount your taking will be essential for your journey.

George

What an excellent idea - thanks!

Alison

x

The budget airlines do everything they legally can to shake off the nuisance customers (old/sick/frail/slow - us, for instance!) who are more likely to be slower than the average able-bodied to get stowed and ready to go, and so threaten the extremely tight turnaround times in their schedules.

It’s tough, but there you go! We deal with worse things.

Have a good trip. I hope the cruise is fab - it will be a good place to recuperate after a couple of hours in Jet2’s tender care.

Alison

x