Passenger’s parachute carry-on turns heads with unusual plane hand-luggage item

Can you take a parachute on a plane as carry on? And, should you? Photo / Kamil Pietrzak; Unsplash

One passenger’s unusual carry-on item caused a sensation when they walked onto a plane with their own parachute.

The choice of hand luggage did not inspire confidence in most passengers but some saw the funny side.

The traveller’s wife, Kagan Brooks, posted her embarrassed reaction, pretending to disown her husband over his rogue choice of carry-on-luggage.

“Not my husband bringing his parachute on Spirit Airlines,” she wrote to TikTok, joking that it was an extra precaution … “just in case”.

As her husband Brook sowed the bulky dark backpack in the overhead compartment, Kagan wrote she was “laughing out loud the entire time”.

The skydiver wasn’t betting on making an unexpected jump. Instead he was taking his canopy on holiday.

@kaganbrooks

I was laughing out loud the entire time 😂 #spiritairlines #traveltiktok #skydiver #spirit #traveltok

♬ Surround Sound - JID

At a cruising altitude of just under 10km, you would need a more substantial parachute rig than the man’s backpack.

While carrying your own parachute onto a plane may be taken as a sign of paranoia - or could inspire it in others - skydiving rigs are allowed as hand luggage by the TSA.

The video, which was viewed 1.6million times, attracted snarky comments on the reliability of their airline.

Rather than worrying travellers, others commented that having a parachute might help with their fear of flying.

“Probably the smartest idea I’ve ever seen. This would help me with any plane anxiety in a way,” read one comment.

In a follow up video, Kagan revealed that her husband was “bringing his rig to Miami so he could go skydiving there” and despite her giggles, few other passengers paid any attention to the odd backpack.

Spirit airlines passenger Brandon Brooks walked onto a plane carrying a parachute. Hilarity ensued. Photo / Kagan Brooks, Tiktok

Flying with parachutes as hand luggage

Many skydivers choose to take their parachutes with them in the cabin.

In fact, some parachutes with inbuilt Automatic Activation Devices (AADs - small electronic or gas fuses) cannot be checked into a plane’s hold and must be carried in the cabin. Though this depends on the model of AAD and the country that parachutists are travelling though.

Previously, the New Zealand Aviation Security Service have refused parachutes fitted with AADs on board aircraft, although in the US the TSA notes travellers “may transport parachutes, either with or without AADs, in carry-on or checked bags”.

The main reason most skydivers choose not to check parachutes as hold luggage is the risk that security agents may unpack their parachute for inspection. Unpacking and repacking a parachute is a long and careful process, something that skydivers are understandably keen not to leave in the care of strangers. Parachutists travelling with canopies are advised to arrive with at least 30 minutes extra on their airline’s check-in window, in case they are required to unpack their parachute for inspection.