TUI Airways puts a free 10kg cabin bag on every fare it sells. Its sister brand TUI fly does not work that way.
The TUI Airways baggage allowance is fixed and simple. That is not the rulebook used by the airline that shares its name and its parent company.
TUI Airways is the UK operator behind tui.co.uk package holidays and flight only bookings. It flies under the TOM and BY codes. TUI fly is a separate airline based in Belgium and the Netherlands, booked through tuifly.com.
The two share a logo and a parent company called TUI Group. They do not share a checked bag policy. Blending the two figures is the fastest way to get a number wrong.
TUI Airways cabin bag allowance
Every TUI Airways passenger gets one cabin bag up to 55 by 40 by 20 centimeters. It can weigh up to 10kg, according to tui.co.uk. A smaller personal item up to 40 by 30 by 20 centimeters is also allowed under the seat, at no extra cost.
There is no cheaper fare that strips this out. That is unusual among leisure carriers. Check it against the carry on size limits most US flyers already know.
TUI Airways checked bag allowance
Package holiday bookings include 20kg of hold baggage per person as standard. That rises to 25kg on a TUI River Cruise, a TUI BLUE, or a Holiday Village stay. Premium seating and long haul upgrades also bring the allowance up to 25kg.
Infants under two get a 10kg allowance. No single bag can weigh more than 25kg, even when a family pools its baggage.
This is the checked side of the TUI Airways baggage allowance. It depends on your holiday type, not a fare code.
Flight only bookings do not include a checked bag by default. You have to add one during booking or afterward. TUI says adding it online costs less than paying at the airport.
The exact online price was not shown without a live booking. That number stays unconfirmed.
Excess weight and oversize fees
Go over your limit and TUI charges by the kilogram. Short and mid haul flights, under seven hours, cost 15 GBP per extra kilogram. Flights over seven hours cost 20 GBP per extra kilogram.
That rate difference adds up fast on a heavy suitcase coming home from Florida or the Caribbean. Knowing the per kilogram rate matters here. The TUI Airways baggage allowance charges scale with distance, unlike a flat overweight fee.
TUI Airways versus TUI fly
The clearest way to see the difference is side by side. The two airlines gate their bags in opposite directions.
| Detail | TUI Airways (tui.co.uk) | TUI fly (tuifly.com) |
|---|---|---|
| Free cabin bag on every fare | Yes, 55x40x20cm, 10kg | No, depends on fare booked |
| Cheapest fare checked bag | None included, add on booking | None included, Base Fares carry no hold baggage |
| Mid tier checked bag | 20kg with most package holidays | 20kg on Better Fares |
| Top fare checked bag | 25kg on premium or long haul | 25kg on Best Fare and Premium long haul |
According to tuifly.com, TUI fly does not publish exact cabin bag dimensions the way TUI Airways does. Its own FAQ says the cabin allowance depends on the fare purchased.
It points travelers to their booking confirmation instead of a fixed size. That is a real gap in what TUI fly discloses, not a figure we chose to skip.
What actually happens at the gate
Traveler reports on travel forums describe TUI cabin bag checks as inconsistent rather than strict. One passenger flying in August said staff did not weigh or measure bags at boarding. Standard sized carry on suitcases went into the overhead bins without a second look.
The same thread noted gate staff nudging larger bags toward the hold to save locker space. They were not pulling bags aside to enforce the 10kg limit. That is useful context, not a loophole, since a bag close to the limit can sail through on one flight and get stopped on the next.
Package holiday versus flight only
Most people flying TUI Airways bought a package holiday, not a standalone ticket. The two paths land on different checked bag defaults. A package usually starts at 20kg included, while a flight only fare starts at zero and needs an add on.
Always check the baggage line on your actual confirmation email. These baggage fee structures change by route and season.
How TUI Airways compares to other UK leisure carriers
TUI Airways is not the only UK carrier built around package holidays. Jet2 runs a similar model of holiday bundled flights. easyJet and Ryanair sell mostly flight only tickets and charge separately for almost everything.
On the European side, Condor plays a role for German leisure travelers that looks a lot like the one TUI fly plays for Belgium and the Netherlands.
The bottom line
The TUI Airways baggage allowance gives every fare a free 10kg cabin bag. The checked bag depends on your holiday type rather than a fare code. TUI fly works the other way, gating both cabin and checked baggage by the fare you booked.
Run your numbers through a baggage cost calculator before you fly. Read your own confirmation email as the final word, since it overrides any general figure on this page.
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