Stansted: Men Lose Packing War

21 April 2012, 08:11 | Updated: 21 April 2012, 08:14

Many men are having to sacrifice their aircraft luggage allowance due to ``overpacking'' by wives and girlfriends, according to a survey by Stansted Airport.

The usual airline hold baggage allowance limits for travellers to 20kg (44lb) per person.

But some men are having to give up as much as 5kg (11lb) to make room for items their female partners want to take, the poll by Stansted airport found.

As many as 52% of men said they had given up space to their partner, while 22% of women said they did not check the packing restrictions before heading for the airport.

Also, 37% of women confessed to frantically reshuffling the contents of their bags at the check-in desk to meet the weight limit, while 48% admitted they take too much on holiday.

Based on responses from 2,000 people, the survey also showed that 25% of holidaymakers spend three hours packing their suitcases.

As many as 13% rush out without their passports or boarding passes, 15% forget suncream or sunglasses and 10% leave their phone chargers and power adaptors behind.

Stansted terminal manager Mandy Mather said: "The days of saying 'don't forget your toothbrush' are long gone.

"Now the question should be: what can we leave at home? Unfortunately it seems a lot of passengers want to have their cake - and pack it.''