Air India is to impose blanket ban on free excess baggage. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has asked the Airlines to do so to plug revenue loss of Air India. In a letter to Air India Chief Rohit Nandan he said the airline should stop the practise of carrying excess baggage without charges immediately on domestic and international flights.

An Air India official said, the free baggage allowance normally is 20 kgs but the airlines has been lenient in dealing with special requests, especially by VIPs. On international routes, an Air India passenger can carry 28 kilogram’s checked-in baggage free on a London flight but they have to pay 1,570 rupees per kg for excess baggage. While on a Delhi-New York flight, the first 56 kg is free.

World over, excess baggage fee is a form of an ancillary revenue for airlines.