Airport Bag Drop After Online Check-In: What to Do

Before leaving home, check your airline’s instructions for your departure airport. Confirm:

- Your departure terminal and the airline operating your flight, particularly if you booked through another airline. - That your booking includes hold baggage, with the correct number of bags and weight allowance. - When bag drop opens and closes. - Whether your boarding pass is ready to use or you need an airport document check.

Online check-in, bag drop and boarding have separate deadlines. Completing online check-in does not extend the deadline for handing over your luggage. Plan to complete bag drop before it closes, not simply join the queue by then, and leave time for security and the walk to your gate.

Use your airline’s arrival guidance alongside the airport’s current advice. For an airport-specific walkthrough, see our [Heathrow departure and security guide](/guides/heathrow-departure-arrival-check-in-security-guide). If you are flying from Gatwick, [check which terminal your flight uses](/guides/which-gatwick-terminal-departure-return) before planning your journey.

Go to the departures hall before security. Check the airport screens for your flight number and the relevant check-in zone, desk numbers or bag-drop area. Follow signs for your airline rather than joining the first queue you see.

Airports may have staffed bag-drop desks, self-service machines or a shared check-in and bag-drop queue. A dedicated bag-drop lane may be available for passengers who have already checked in, but this varies by airline and airport. Ask a member of staff if the signs are unclear.

Have your boarding pass, passport or accepted travel identification, and any required travel documents ready. Keep your booking reference accessible in case staff need to retrieve your booking. For international flights, the airline may check your passport and destination entry documents before accepting your bag, even though you checked in online.

At a staffed desk, present your boarding pass and travel documents, then place your suitcase on the scales when asked. Staff will check its weight, attach a baggage tag and provide a baggage receipt.

At self-service bag drop, follow the on-screen instructions. The usual process is:

1. Scan your boarding pass or retrieve your booking as directed. 2. Print a baggage tag at a kiosk if one is not issued by the bag-drop machine. 3. Check that the tag matches your journey and attach it exactly as shown. 4. Place one bag at a time on the belt or scales, following the machine’s positioning instructions. 5. Wait for confirmation that the bag has been accepted and keep the receipt.

Some airports separate tag printing from the actual bag-drop belt. Printing a tag alone does not mean your suitcase has been handed over.

Remove old airline routing tags before attaching the new one. If the machine rejects your bag, cannot read the tag or asks for assistance, speak to staff rather than leaving the suitcase beside it.

Weigh your suitcase before travelling and compare it with your booked allowance. A bag that exceeds the allowance may need repacking, an additional baggage purchase or another arrangement under the airline’s rules. Do not assume spare allowance can be shared between passengers; pooling policies vary.

Sports equipment, large bags, pushchairs and car seats may need a separate oversized-baggage handover. Often, you must first visit your airline’s desk to have the item checked and tagged, then take it to the designated collection point. Ask staff for the correct order at your airport.

If you want to use a pushchair until boarding, ask the airline whether gate handover is available and where to get its tag. Do not put it on a standard baggage belt unless instructed. Our [guide to flying with pushchairs and car seats](/guides/flying-with-pushchair-car-seat) explains the handover options and what to confirm before departure.

Before handing over your bag, remove anything you will need during the journey: travel documents, keys, essential medication, valuables and your phone. Once the suitcase has been accepted, you should not expect to retrieve it before your destination.

Spare lithium batteries and power banks must not go in hold baggage. Carry them in cabin baggage with terminals protected against short circuits, and check your airline’s capacity and quantity restrictions. E-cigarettes must also stay out of hold baggage; follow your airline’s carriage instructions.

Check airline and airport guidance for restricted items rather than assuming everything unsuitable for cabin baggage can go in the hold. Keep any liquids you will carry through security packed according to the rules at your departure airport, including any connecting airport where you will be screened again.

Keep your baggage receipt somewhere accessible, not inside another bag you are about to check in. It contains the reference used to trace your suitcase if it does not arrive. A clear photograph provides a useful backup.

For a connecting journey, confirm where your bag is tagged to and whether you must collect and recheck it during the connection. Do not assume it will travel through automatically, especially with separate bookings.

Once every hold bag has been accepted and any required document checks are complete, follow signs to departures security with your cabin baggage. Bag drop does not replace security screening. Check the departure screens after security and follow your airline’s boarding deadline, allowing for the walk to the gate.

If your suitcase is missing on arrival, our [delayed or lost baggage guide](/guides/lost-delayed-baggage-uk-airports) explains what to report before leaving the airport.