日內陸機手提行李新規定

Recently Asahi News reported the following:

縦、横、高さの合計が１１５センチ以内――。国内線の旅客機の客室に持ち込める荷物のサイズが１２月から各社で統一される。バイオリンなど楽器が持ち込めなくなる音楽関係者は、楽器ケースを作り直したり、航空会社側に「例外扱い」を水面下で求めたり。一方の航空会社は「特別扱いできない」と厳格な運用をする構えだ。 これまでは持ち込み荷物の規制は各社バラバラで、規定があっても厳格に守られず、空席状況などに応じて柔軟に対応するケースもあった。 ところが最近、車輪のついた小型スーツケースを持ち込む客が急増。インターネットや携帯電話で搭乗手続きを終え、空港カウンターに寄らなくて済むようになったこともあり、規定外のタイプが持ち込まれることが多くなった。荷物が機内の棚に収まらず、出発が遅れるトラブルも多発。ある社では０８年度、荷物のトラブルをめぐる運航の遅れが１年間で約５千件、計約３１６時間もあった。航空各社は「定時運航を保つためには、規制の徹底しかない」とルール変更に踏み切った。

Starting from December, flight companies in Japan would be united to restrict the size of luggage that could be brought to the guest room of passenger planes in domestic flights: a total of within 115 centimeters in length, width, and height. Music related parties who could not bring musical instruments such as violins, while trying to make the musical instrument case, requested "exception treatment" from the airline behind the scene. On the other hand, airlines maintained a posture of carrying out the decision seriously, saying that "it is not possible to give special treatment". Up to now, although there were regulations, they were not enforced strictly, there were cases that luggage were handled flexibly in response to the vacant seat situation at the time. However, recently, guests who brought small suitcases with wheels attached had increased rapidly. There were those who completed boarding procedures by Internet and by the cellular phone, did not report to the airport counter before boarding the plane, and often they brought along a type of luggage that was not allowed by regulations. These luggage could not be stored properly onto the shelf of the plane, often causing trouble that delayed plane's departure. In certain company in the year 2008, there were as many as 316 hours of service delay in about 5,000 cases of luggage trouble. Airlines that carried out the rule changes said that "(we) can do nothing but to insist on carrying out the restriction so as to keep (our) service to the time schedule".

It seems that domestics flights in Japan are under tighter control as far as boarding regulations are concerned.