What are the restricted baggage items on Qatar Airways’ flights?

It often can be stressful when packing for your vacation or business trip, however, be mindful of the restricted items that you can’t carry in your hand or cabin baggage. Leaving your personal items back at the airport can be very disappointing just because you packed the wrong items unknowingly. For passengers’ safety, and in compliance with international regulations, Qatar Airways places some restrictions on some particular items that can pose a risk of explosion, causing bodily harm, or damaging other property. Scroll all way down to learn more about the restricted items as well as dangerous goods that cannot be brought onto the plane at all.

Dangerous goods

Dangerous Goods are classified as items or substances that could pose health or safety hazards to customers. The transport of these goods is regulated by international civil aviation regulations, and they are generally not allowed in either cabin baggage or checked baggage, with some exceptions.

Qatar Airways, as well as Qatar Civil Aviation on their websites, include key information on banned and restricted items.

Not permitted in hand baggage

Devices that discharge projectiles

Guns, Firearms and other devices that discharge projectiles devices designed to cause serious injury by discharging a projectile or that could be mistaken for such device, including toys, antiques and replicas. Example of items are given below

• Firearms of all types, including pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns
• Toy guns, replicas and imitation firearms capable of being mistaken for real weapons
• Component parts of firearms, (excluding telescopic sights)
• Compressed air and CO2 guns, including pistols, pellet guns, rifles and ball bearing guns
• Signal flare pistols and starter pistols
• Bows, crossbows, and arrows
• Harpoon guns and spear guns- Slingshots and catapults

Stunning devices: devices designed specifically to stun or immobiliser

• Devices for shocking, such as stun guns (e.g. teasers) and stun batons
• Animal stunners and animal killers
• Disabling and incapacitating chemicals, gases and sprays, such as mace, pepper or capsicum spray, tear gas, acid sprays and animal repellent sprays

Objects with sharp points or edges that could be used to cause serious injury

• Items designed for choppings, such as axes, hatchets, and cleavers
• Ice axes and ice picks
• Razor blades, box cutters
• Knives with blades of more than 6 cm
• Scissors with blades of more than 6 cm as measured from the fulcrum
• Martial art equipment with sharp points or edges- Swords and sabers

Not permitted in checked baggage

Flammable items: Lighter or heavier fuels, paint and all matches.

Explosives materials: Fireworks, flares, ammunition*, Christmas crackers and firearms.

Corrosives: Mercury, acids, alkalies and wet cell batteries. Infectious substances such as bacteria, viruses. Poisons such as insecticides, weed killers, arsenic and cyanides. Radioactive Material.

Oxidising Materials: For example, bleaches and fiberglass repair kits.

Compressed Gases: It includes deeply refrigerated, flammable, non-flammable and poisonous such as Butane, oxygen*, propane and aqualung cylinders.

Permitted with conditions

Aside from the above restrictions on items, you can carry within your checked or hand baggage, please note the below:

• Medical and toilet articles in small quantities may be carried.
• Sporting ammunition – up to 5kg can be carried in checked baggage if they are properly boxed. However, you need to contact your local Qatar Airways office for prior approval.
• Safety matches may be carried on the person.
• Liquids, aerosols, and gels may be carried in hand baggage in individual containers with a capacity not greater than 100 ml (or equivalent) and contained in one transparent re-sealable plastic bag of a capacity not exceeding 1 litre (or equivalent). The contents of the plastic bag shall fit comfortably and the bag must be completely closed. The size of the plastic bag must not exceed 20cm x 20cm (8 inches x 8 inches). Medications, baby milk/foods and special dietary requirements in the form of liquids or gels will be allowed.

Rules for Lithium batteries

Whether a lithium battery can be carried by air or not depends on its configuration and either watt-hour (Wh) rating (for rechargeable) or lithium content (LC) (for non-rechargeable). Passengers can carry up to 15 portable electronic devices containing lithium-ion batteries. The watt-hour rating for batteries should not exceed 100 (or 2g, for lithium metal). As per the Qatar Airways’ guideline, batteries contained in equipment such as laptop computers, cameras or mobile phones, must be switched off and measures are taken to ensure that they cannot be accidentally activated when placed in checked baggage. Visit Qatar Airways website to know more about this.