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Airline restrictions on cabin bags just keep getting stricter and stricter. Most of us have been there, caught at the boarding gate, and no matter how much we’ve tried to hide it, suddenly we’re told our bag doesn’t qualify as carry-on. This is, of course, followed by the annoying carry-on baggage fee we all try to avoid.
With so many rules to follow, it’s no wonder we question what we’re actually allowed to bring, umbrellas included. If you’re jetting off for a weekend city break within the UK, or even a longer journey compiled into a well-packed carry-on bag, you want to be prepared. Thankfully, according to CEO and co-founder of The Tour Guy, Sean Finelli, taking an umbrella on an airplane is allowed, but there are some rules.
“Security agencies generally permit them in both carry-on and checked luggage. However, how it affects your baggage allowance and whether it gets flagged at security depends entirely on the type of umbrella you have,” Finelli explains.
And unsurprisingly, some airlines will have their own rules regarding umbrellas. For example, British Airways, Ryanair and EasyJet say you can take small foldable umbrellas on board, but it must be able to fit inside your hand luggage.
To make the boarding process as easy as possible, Finelli recommends sticking with small, blunt, collapsible umbrellas. Oversized walking umbrellas run the risk being rejected, so keep these to checked luggage. And remember, any umbrella with metal tips or weapon-shaped handles will be confiscated at security, so keep that in mind too.
Read more: This £30 bag complies with Wizz Air’s strict hand luggage rules
Best umbrellas to take on a plane
Blunt metro umbrella
Style: Foldable
Weight: 385g
Open diameter: 100cm
Closed size: 37.5cm
Wind tested to: Category 1 hurricane (up to 95mph)
Automatic or manual: Automatic
“Blunt’s metro umbrella is the dreamiest brolly you’ll ever lay your eyes on,” writes our reviewer who chose it as their top pick in our guide to the best umbrellas. “It has a stylish, scalloped design that not only looks good but is also practical. Its design is thoughtfully engineered, and it helped us avoid close calls and accidental pokes in the eye when navigating busy London streets.”
They go on to write that this umbrella “has reinforced pockets edge of the canopy to keep the spokes out of harm’s way and stop them from popping out as they often do on cheaper umbrellas. It also has a 360-degree spinning canopy to protect the core mechanism if it is knocked.” And even in 30mph winds, it “remained strong and sturdy.”
Buy now £74.95, Amazon.co.uk
Fulton tornado umbrella
Type: Folding
Weight: 545g
Open diameter: 120cm
Closed size: 37cm
Wind tested to: Extreme weather
Automatic or manual: Automatic
“The Fulton tornado is one majestic-looking umbrella,” writes our reviewer. “Featuring a wide canopy that two people can just about fit under, and a clever three-stage automatic frame. We always felt protected from the elements under this brolly, and it never flipped inside out.”
Its reinforced polymer ribs are made from strong steel, with our reviewer noting “we never felt like the thing was going to collapse in on us in high winds”.
Buy now £29.73, Amazon.co.uk
Gilley umbrella
Type: Folding
Weight: 400g
Open diameter: 98cm
Closed size: Unspecified
Wind tested to: 30mph
Automatic or manual: Manual
Named as our most compact umbrella in our guide, the Gilley umbrella is definitely small enough to take on board with you. Our reviewer writes: “Thanks to the hard-shell case, you can put the umbrella into your bag and none of the contents will get wet. While slightly more chunky than other designs (it won’t fit into a smaller handbag), it’s certainly a smart feature.”
And despite how compact it is, it has a large canopy, “so two people can snugly fit underneath it”.
Buy now £39.49, Gilley.uk
Fulton aerolite
Type: Folding
Weight: 86g
Open diameter: 83cm
Closed size: 20cm
Wind tested to: Wind-resistant frame
Automatic or manual: Manual
“This might be one of the lightest umbrellas ever made,” writes our reviewer, calling this a “featherlight” choice. “It weighs just 86g – that’s 10 50p coins, or a deck of playing cards, or a tube of mascara, or a box of beeswax. You get the idea, this thing is light, and folds away into a teeny-tiny cylinder.”
As well as being light and compact for plane travel, it performs well in rain too. “It still features a three-stage frame, and the polyester canopy effectively covered us from the elements. But its downfall is the wind. While it features five carbon ribs, it’s not strong enough to resist inversion. It kept flipping inside out at the smallest gust.”
Buy now £25, Amazon.co.uk
Meet the expert
- Sean Finelli: CEO and Co-Founder of The Tour Guy
Don’t get caught out by Ryanair’s hand luggage rules – this is the £12 bag to buy
