I am always nervous about losing my ID at the airport, how about you?
Orlando International Airport
You have to have it out at TSA, then you have to stow it quickly because you can’t have it in your hand or your pocket as you go through the body scanners or metal detectors. And then I’m always carrying a larger bag than I typically carry as my personal item, but still have my important items like my wallet and cell phone stored in my smaller bag I will carry with me every day at my destination. I thought I had found a perfect solution for this by wearing a belt bag — but then I found out these can cause some problems at the airport that you might not be expecting.
You’ve seen the ubiquitous belt bag…you probably even own one. LOTS of people love to carry these in Disney World because they’re so easy to strap on and go, and they’re small and lightweight (I mean, unless you’re packing rolls of quarters or gold bars in yours.). If you’re a Gen X-er like me, you may call these a fanny pack or hip pack — it’s all the same thing!
©Amazon
And after I got a couple of these on Amazon for Disney World park days, I realized how convenient they were and started carrying them frequently — especially to the airport. So, imagine my surprise when I stumbled on a Reddit thread from a flight attendant saying these bags were “the bane of my existence.” OOPS.
I certainly don’t ever want to be the bane of anyone’s existence — especially flight attendants who already have a hard job and long hours. As I read on, I realized I’ve been breaking a couple of airport rules by wearing my belt bag — and you could be, too! Let’s take a look…
Your Belt Bag Counts as Your Personal Item
Now, I should start off here by saying that your mileage is GONNA vary on this one — your experience will be different sometimes. BUT, technically, that belt bag is your personal item. And most of the time, airlines allow you to carry TWO bags onto a place — a larger carry-on to stow in the overhead compartment, and a smaller personal item that fits under the seat.
©Amazon
So if you’re wheeling a suitcase onto the plane with a tote slung over your shoulder and a belt bag strapped across your body or around you’re waist, you’re carrying THREE bags. And you could be stopped for this. Now, as I said, your mileage may vary — I did this multiple times without thinking and without being stopped. And then I got stopped one time and realized I had been breaking the rules! It’s easy enough to take that belt bag off and stash it in your larger personal item you’re carrying (be it a tote, backpack, etc.). This avoids you getting stopped, and it avoids breaking the rules. As an eldest daughter with anxiety, I don’t like to break the rules — I want to be an 11/10 airline passenger, so I’m taking that belt bag off and stashing it every time now.
Your Belt Bag Is a Safety Issue
Now back to that Reddit thread from the flight attendant — which, by the way, had several more flight attendants chime in and agree. Another reason I initially loved wearing my belt bag on flights is that I would continue to wear it in my seat on the plane. It was GREAT to keep my phone and earbuds in there, because we all know there’s no good place to stash them on a place — those back-of-seat pockets are deep and you lose them (not to mention I don’t want to stick my hands down there!). But with your belt bag on, they’re right there within reach.
Southwest plane
BUT. Wearing anything strapped to your body on take-off and landing is against the rules! It’s a safety issue. I knew that you couldn’t have your bags and other items in your lap during take-off and landing, but I did not realize my crossbody bag was an issue. And just like wearing it when you board the plane — I did this several times without being told by any flight attendant to take the bag off. In fact, I’ve never been told that — I learned about this on Reddit. But now? I take that bag off at takeoff and landing (because…11/10 passenger behavior, remember).
So flight attendants don’t actually hate a belt bag...they just hate having to tell passengers who don’t know the rules to take them off. And while I’m unsure how a bag on my chest that doesn’t interfere with my seatbelt and shouldn’t interfere with me evacuating the plane in any way is a safety risk, I’m gonna listen to flight attendants — because they deserve that. And I’m gonna follow the rules because…well, we’ve already established that. But again, your mileage may vary on this!
Orlando-Sanford Airport
So, the next time I head to the airport, I will once again be sporting my belt bag, but I’ll be following the rules, as well. I hope this keeps you from any awkward situations at the airport or on the plane! Keep following DFB for more travel news!
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Flying is not fun anymore! Airlines charge ridiculously high prices and make more and more illogical rules to ruin a passenger’s experience. I’ve had it….
I normally pack a sling bag and my carry on (sometimes I pack my sling into my carry on-if I expect to purchase items on the trip). However, I also have a black ‘tactical’ vest (fancy way a saying a vest with multiple pockets) to carry other quick to reach items.
Thanks for all these tips! We stopped flying when AirTran was sold. They had the best non-stop to Orlando flight times from our area, the best prices, and we could almost always upgrade to first class for practically nothing, relatively speaking. Their model was really great. I realize Southwest is not hurting for customers, but their model is the opposite of everything that was great about AirTran, and I would never fly them if I had any alternative. Not to mention, we’ve become completely spoiled on having our car at WDW.