Lufthansa student website (www.lufthansa.com/students) offers important information on baggage regulations and allowance for international students travelling to the US.

There are very clear guidelines on what can or cannot be carried as baggage in travel to the US. The Transportation Security Administration, the nodal agency that drafts these rules for travel into the US, has a detailed list of prohibited items in both check-in and hand baggage.

In addition, there are also clear regulations for special items like medications, sporting equipment, currency, batteries, photographic equipment, musical instruments and valuable jewelry.

Check the website for links to these specific regulatory guidelines.

Baggage allowance

The website provides guidance on the baggage allowance for students. The usual baggage allowance to North America includes two check-in bags – each not weighing more than 23 kg and not exceeding 62 inches in dimension (Length+Breadth+Height) – and 1 cabin baggage not larger than 55X40X20cm weighing up to 8 kg.

Lufthansa is also offering a special student allowance to permit a third check-in bag for free. This allows a total of 3 pieces of free check-in bags of the same specifications mentioned above ? an amazing 33% extra room for all the things that can?t fit in.

Hand baggage

The guidelines on hand baggage are even stricter. So it is recommended that travelers read the rules on what can or cannot be carried as hand baggage before packing. Besides these, the Lufthansa site provides information on the 3-1-1 rule on liquids carried hand baggage as well as the manner in which hand bags should be packed.

A bag that has many overlapping metallic items that come across as a confusing mass is likely to be stopped at the X-ray machine for a physical check. So, packing wisely could save a lot of trouble at the security check.

A changing landscape

It is important to check for any updates or changes in baggage regulations before finally packing your bags for any travel, and to the US in particular. The TSA website provides a facility for email notification if there is an update to the list of prohibited items. Check out Lufthansa website for guidance on how to subscribe to this alert to stay abreast of the latest baggage regulations.