Strict carry-on enforcement on domestic flights in Brazil starting April 2019

The maximum dimensions of carry-on bags for domestic flights in Brazil are currently the same as those in the U.S. and other countries.

• Height: 55 cm (21½ in)
• Width: 35 cm (13¾ in)
• Depth: 25 cm (9¾ in)

The new information is that, starting on 10 April 2019 and continuing weekly, these limits on hand luggage will be strictly enforced at airports hosting Brazilian domestic flights according to this schedule:

• 10 April 2019: Juscelino Kubitschek (Brasília/DF) Afonso Pena (Curitiba/PR) Viracopos (Campinas/SP) Aluízio Alves (Natal/RN)
• 17 April 2019: Confins – Tancredo Neves (Belo Horizonte/MG) Pinto Martins (Fortaleza/CE) Guararapes – Gilberto Freyre (Recife/PE) Luís Eduardo Magalhães (Salvador/BA) Val-de-Cans – Júlio Cezar Ribeiro (Belém/PA)
• 24 April 2019: Santa Genoveva (Goiânia/GO) Salgado Filho (Porto Alegre/RS) Congonhas (São Paulo/SP) São Paulo International Airport (Guarulhos/SP) Galeão – Tom Jobim (Rio de Janeiro/RJ) Santos Dumont (Rio de Janeiro/RJ)

The way this will operate is that measurements of your hand luggage will be taken just before the security X-ray conveyor belt.  If your carry-on and/or backpack exceed the limits, you will be asked to return to the back of the (usually long) line of the airline's check-in counter where you will have to pay for the bag(s) as checked luggage. While the cost of checking your carry-on is an annoyance after your bag gets rejected at the security checkpoint, the real issue is that you could easily miss your connecting flight.

Although the airlines tout this new enforcement policy as leading to a more efficient boarding process, one can imagine that, as nearly every carry-on bag gets measured, queues will form at the security conveyor belt measuring station, with conflicts erupting among airline employees, passengers, and security personnel as hand luggage gets rejected.

The new enforcement policy also indicates that your one allowed personal item (e.g., a backpack) may not exceed the following measurements:

• Height: 35 cm (13¾ in)
• Width: 45 cm (17¾ in)
• Depth: 20 cm (7¾ in)

AND it must be able to fit under the seat in front of you.

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One article also suggests that, although they do not plan to institute enforcement of a weight rule in April, Brazilian airlines reserve the right to enforce the existing regulation of a maximum of 10 kg (22 lbs) for carry-on bags.

In any event, the new carry-on size enforcement policy is likely to affect many travelers, including road warriors on business trips and those of us currently in the middle of or planning quick trips to Brazil that include domestic flight connections.