Why dumbbells and skipping ropes are not allowed in cabin baggage on flights

Ensure the sports items you pack follow the allotted check-in and cabin baggage allowance, or you will have to pay an additional fee for the same.

By: Lifestyle Desk

New Delhi | Updated: November 11, 2025 06:12 PM IST

3 min read

Why are dumbbells not allowed on flights? (Source: Freepik)

Passengers are allowed to carry only specific items onboard an aircraft, as per the guidelines issued by individual airlines and regulatory authorities. As such, certain items remain prohibited at Indian airports, including firearms, explosives, hazardous materials, and undeclared high-value goods. But did you know that carrying dumbbells and skipping ropes on a flight can also land you in unnecessary trouble?

K Anuradha Suresh, an aviation expert and a retired senior AGM from Air India, told indianexpress.com that dumbbells and skipping ropes are not allowed as cabin baggage for security reasons.

According to her, both items are prohibited under general rules because they could pose a risk and harm fellow passengers. Moreover, they can be used to threaten crew and passengers into carrying out unlawful interference.

“In the case of dumbbells, they pose a heavy risk because of their weight, especially since they might cause injuries to other passengers inadvertently or may be used as a weapon to carry out unlawful interference,” she said. Skipping ropes, she added, could be used for choking and as a weapon. It could be used as a restraint device by wrongdoers.

Ensure the sports items you pack comply with the allotted check-in and cabin baggage allowance, or you will have to pay an additional fee.

Skipping ropes can be a potential hazard (Source: Freepik)

Items prohibited in cabin luggage

As per the Ministry of Civil Aviation in India, here are some items you must avoid carrying in your hand baggage:

Knives, scissors, Swiss army knives and other sharp instruments
Toy replicas of firearms and ammunition
Weapons such as whips, nunchucks, batons, or stun guns
Electronic devices that cannot be switched off
Aerosols and liquids
Any other items that are deemed security hazards by local law

Items prohibited in both cabin and check-in luggage

And these are items you must avoid carrying at all costs:

Story continues below this ad

Gases such as compressed gases, liquefied gases, refrigerated liquefied gases, dissolved gases, adsorbed gases, flammable, non-flammable and poisonous gases such as butane oxygen and liquid nitrogen, avalanche rescue backpacks, medical oxygen, oxygen spray bottles, canned oxygen, oxygen canisters, and oxygen aerosols.
Corrosives such as acids, alkalis, mercury and wet cell batteries and apparatus containing mercury.
Explosives, munitions, fireworks, flares, ammunition, including blank cartridges, handguns, and pistol caps.
Flammable liquids and solids such as lighter refills, lighter fuel, matches, paints, thinners, fire-lighters, lighters that need inverting before ignition, matches (these may be carried on the person), radioactive material, briefcases and attache cases with installed alarm devices.

ALSO READ | How to prepare for a long-haul flight to make it more comfortable

Oxidising materials such as bleaching powder and peroxidesPoisons and infectious substances such as insecticides, weed-killers and live virus materials
Anything that possesses and/or is capable of possessing and/or emitting a conspicuous and/or offensive odour
Other dangerous articles, such as magnetised materials, offensive or irritating materials.

DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your health practitioner before starting any routine.

From the homepage