South African Airways baggage allowance has had no major changes in 2026. However, it’s a must to read all that you need to know before flying, especially as a newbie traveller, because checked bag and carry-on sizes can vary by cabin, route, and even flight operator. Understanding their baggage allowance can also help you pick the best cabin bags to bring with you on board to avoid the hassles.

South African Airways is the biggest airline in South Africa and the second biggest in Africa in number of passengers carried. They fly to 18 countries within Africa and 9 outside the continent, along with that, over 30 domestic ports. To have a buttery smooth trip from the moment you pack to when you land, here’s a thorough guide on South African Airways baggage allowance, including their fees, limits, and check-in process.

South African Airways Baggage Allowance For Cabin Luggage

You get a carry on and a free personal item.

South African Airways baggage allowance is strict, straightforward yet generous, even though its fleet has gotten smaller in 2025.

Both domestic and international flights share a similar cabin luggage regulation. The difference lies in your fare and cabin. Before we dive into South African Airways baggage limits, here’s a quick summary of their cabin and fare types.

• In Economy, South African Airways' baggage allowance for cabin baggage is 2 pieces per passenger, which is 1 carry-on bag and 1 small personal item. This is generally applied to most domestic and intercontinental.

• In Business, it is 3 pieces: 2 carry-on bags and 1 small personal item.

Each fare type will refer to a distinct booking code that tells you how much baggage you are allowed and which services come with it, but usually you don’t have to memorise it. It will be shown and explained in your bookings.

South African Airways Baggage Size and Weight For Carry-On

For cabin baggage, your carry-on bag must fit in the overhead compartment, and your small personal item must fit under the seat in front of you. Your small personal item can be a backpack, a slimline laptop bag, or a handbag. 

There is no difference in size between Business and Economy class. Your cabin bag must not exceed 56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm in dimensions.

Your personal item must be 30 cm x 40 cm x 10 cm or less. Any carry-on luggage that exceeds the allowance will be checked.

South African Airways baggage weight follows the same regulation. Cabin bags must not exceed 8 kilograms for both Business and Economy class.

CabinZero’s note: South African Airways accepts slimline, thin and slender laptop bags/briefcases as personal items. This means that if your personal item is deemed hard and bulky, it can be counted as an extra cabin bag.

For an overview, take a look at our summary.

How Strict Is South African Airways?

South African Airways baggage allowance is straightforward, standard and, as some travellers may describe, strict. There may be some truth to this, especially in their post-pandemic years when fleets are downsized. 

As we’ve known, bulkier personal items that require effort to be stored under the seat will be counted as an extra cabin bag and incur an extra baggage fee. This much has been made clear within their policy upon booking. This certainly comes as a surprise to some who are used to other European full-service carriers.

Seasoned travellers prefer to carry just 1 compact soft-shell backpack either as a personal item or the main cabin bag.

CabinZero 28L Backpack fits this approach perfectly. It can carry a 15,6 inch laptop along with other personal belongings in one well-organised yet lightweight space.

Measuring at 39 cm x 29.5 cm x 20 cm, it stays comfortably within South African Airways baggage allowance. 

Carrying just one compact backpack helps avoid this second cabin bag situation.

On the other hand, no airlines are exactly that strict when you know how to pack smart and adhere to their baggage allowance.

South African Airways Checked Bag Allowance

South African Airways baggage allowance for checked bags is piece-based, which means you can check a certain number of bags with a weight limit for each, instead of a total weight over multiple bags. If one of your bags exceeds the weight and size limit but the total does not, it will still be counted as extra baggage.

This is the standard, baseline allowance for South African Airways checked baggage.

• In Economy, passengers are allowed one checked bag weighing up to 23 kilograms, with the measurement of 158 centimetres or less. This allowance is the same for all Economy fares - Saver, Plus, and Select.

• In Business, the limit is two checked bags. Each can weigh up to 32 kilograms and measure 158 centimetres or less. 

However, we say standard and baseline, which means that there will be exceptions and differences between routes, such as domestic and intercontinental.

South African Airways Baggage Exception

With South African Airways, passengers eligible for student fares are allowed extra pieces on specific routes.

For instance, on routes between Johannesburg–Harare, Lusaka, Windhoek, Mauritius, Gaborone, and Dar es Salaam, students are allowed up to 3 checked bags free of charge. For Australia-Africa, the allowance is 2 pieces. 

The limit to weight and size is the same - 23 kg in Economy and 32 kg in Business, with none exceeding 158 cm.

Students can fly with more baggage on South African Airways.

Another generous exception of South African Airways is baggage allowance for children and infants.

Infants (24 months and younger, accompanied by an adult) who do not have their own seat are allowed free baggage. For carry-on, they are allowed 1 small bag for napkins, food, and bedding not exceeding the adult’s allowance. For checked baggage, the allowance is 23 kg alongside a collapsible stroller. 

Children who need their own seat are allowed the same amount of baggage as an adult when booking tickets at 50% or more of the adult fares.

Excess Baggage Fees

Excess baggage fees incur when one or all of your pieces exceed South African Airways' baggage restrictions. Fees are applied to each piece that goes over the limit in terms of size, weight, and quantity.

Here are three most common scenarios when your baggage can be considered excess baggage.

• You carry or check more bags than allowed

• A bag exceeds the weight limit (8 kg for carry-on, 23 kg for Economy checked baggage, and 32 kg for Business checked baggage)

• A bad exceeds the size limit (56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm for carry-on, and 158 cm for checked baggage)

With South African Airways, they do not accept bags that weigh beyond 32 kilograms. This means that if you carry a 34 kg bag, you either have to repack it into smaller lighter pieces and pay an excess baggage fee or use a different air cargo service.

Excess fees are determined by routes. For domestic flights, you can expect a ZAR 300+ charge per overweight/oversized piece for Economy and ZAR 400+ for Business. For flights within Africa, the fees for Economy and Business are ZAR 1125 (USD 45) and ZAR 675 (USD 75), respectively.

For international flights, excess fees vary between countries, such as Australia and Brazil.

Sports equipment & Pets

You can travel with your sports equipment with South African Airways. Plenty of equipment, such as golf clubs, cycling gear, cricket, ice/field hockey, and sailing gear, are allowed as part of your free checked baggage allowance.

If your fare provides 1 bag of 23 kg, then you can check-in 1 sport equipment no heavier than 23 kg with no other bag. If you bring 1 sport equipment and 1 bag, it will be counted as 2 pieces in total and incur an excess fee. Similarly, the same carry-on baggage regulation is applied if you bring sports equipment into the cabin.

Music instruments are also counted towards your baggage allowance. However, South African Airways advises buying an extra seat if your special baggage is of high value or fragile.

However, pets are not allowed as cabin baggage. Your animal friends will have to be put in hold, but their weight and container will be counted as excess baggage. For example, even if you have 23 kg of free checked baggage, and your pet weighs only 5 kg, you still have to pay an excess baggage fee.

Booking and Check-in process

A screenshot of South African Airways booking page.

You can book directly on South African Airways website or through a third party if they have flights up for booking. We prefer booking directly because it’s more straightforward. However, third-party platforms are an amazing tool to compare prices.

South African Airways will show you all the available cabins for each leg, then fare families within the cabin.

They have 2 cabins: Economy and Business. 

In Economy, you can choose between Saver, Plus, and Select, with Saver being the cheapest and including the least number of services.  

South African Airways Business class is a single fare system.

Your selected fare will tell you how much baggage you’re allowed. Afterwards, you can always buy extra baggage and add services like special meals.

South African Airways provide online check-in (mobile or computer) and in-person check-in (airport counter or self check-in kiosk). Each method is available at certain airports.

Online check-in

Online check-in differs between computer and mobile. Both open 24 hours before departure. However, the latest time you can check-in on mobile is 60 minutes (domestic) and 90 minutes (intercontinental and international) while for computers, it’s 90 minutes and 120 minutes.

In-person check-in

Physical check-in requires queuing in a long line, so South African Airlines suggests arriving at their booths for at least 90 minutes (domestic) and 2,5 hours (international).

South African Airways also provides a special service called Kerbside check-in where a staff member will do all the check-in for you at the airport.  

Overview of South African Airways

South African Airways is the flag carrier of South Africa. It was founded in 1934, just two years shy of being the oldest airline in Africa, which is EgyptAir. They headquarter in O.R. Tambo International Airport.

As of 2025, after the pandemic, their route network does get smaller. For example, they no longer fly directly from Johannesburg to London. The same for New York and Frankfurt. Some international destinations are operated through code shares. However, South African Airways still fly extensively across Africa.

South African Airways is a full-service carrier. Their ticket prices usually include a range of services, such as in-flight entertainment and meals, and baggage allowance, which is as opposed to low-cost carriers, where all services, including luggage, are purchased separately.

Baggage allowance on South African Airways follows a piece system for most routes. As a full-service carrier, the baggage policy also differs between cabin types, destinations, and whether or not your flight is operated by South African Airways or codeshared.

FAQs

Just in case our guide on South African Airways baggage allowance does not answer all of your questions, here are more details you might want to know before flying.

1. How Much Liquids Can You Bring on South African Airways?

South African Airways allow liquids, gels, and aerosols to be in cabin baggage as long as you follow the international regulation for them, a.k.a the 3-1-1 liquid rule.

Each liquid, gel, cream, aerosol or lotion needs to be in a container no larger than 3,4 ounces (100 ml). South African Airways is particularly strict about the size of containers. They must be 100 ml or less. A 200 ml bottle containing 100 ml of liquid will be refused to board.

They must fit a 20 cm x 20 cm clear bag, and each passenger is allowed 1 bag.

2. What Are South African Airways Baggage Restrictions?

Some items must only either be in hold or in the cabin. Some items must never be at all.

Power banks must not be put in your checked bags; they’re allowed only in carry-on bags and must be 100 wh or less. Knives, sharp items, and cutting tools that pose risk will not be allowed as carry-on. Sports equipment that is deemed pointy and can injure others may also be refused to board.

Explosives, firearms, and flammable liquids are strictly prohibited from South African Airways flights. Dry ice of over 2,5 kg is also banned. The list extends to car parts, engines, and televisions.

Even if your special item does not belong in South African Airways restrictions, you should always inform them in advance to avoid last-minute surprises.

3. How much luggage is allowed on a domestic flight in South Africa?

South Africa Airways baggage allowance for domestic routes follow a piece-based scheme.

Economy passengers on flights within South Africa are allowed 1 piece of 23 kg checked baggage, not exceeding 158 cm. Business passengers are allowed 2 pieces of 32 kg each, not exceeding 158 cm.

In terms of carry-on luggage, you can bring 1 bag of 8 kg and 1 small personal item in Economy or 2 bags of 8 kg and 1 small personal item in Business.

Flights that are considered domestic include routes between major South African cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.

South African Airways Baggage Allowance Made Easy With CabinZero

Avoid excess baggage hassles with CabinZero cabin bags.

South African Airways baggage allowance is not so hard to understand, especially when their fare system is fairly simple.

On the other hand, their excess baggage fees and what classifies as excess baggage are a bit complex. However, this would not be a problem at all if you know how to pack and what to pack them in, which is also why many seasoned travellers prefer to travel with 1 efficient, compact cabin bag instead of multiple bags. 

We hope our South African Airways baggage allowance guide has taken the weight off your shoulders for your next dream vacation.

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Nguyen Tran Gia Khanh