It’s logical that as airlines charge customers fees to check their luggage, passengers will carry on as much of their belongings as they possibly can. The logical consequence of that? Passengers and crew getting bonked on the head by bottles of liquor and carry-on toilets.

The Association of Flight Attendants union surveyed their membership, with some unsurprising results. 35% of flight attendants report that they personally have been struck by falling items from overhead bins in the past year, and 81% report pain or injuries from helping passengers with their carry-on items.

ABC News interviewed some AFA representatives about the issue:

Just over the past two months, the survey found that half of all flight attendants witnessed a carry-on item fall out of the bins, sometimes injuring passengers.

“As the plane was taking off the bin opened up and out of the bin a bottle of liquor fell, landed, and hit an unsuspecting man in the head,” Rene Foss, spokesperson for the AFA told “Good Morning America.” “He was injured and we had to give him first aid.”

Foss and fellow flight attendant Bill McGlashen said they’ve seen it all, from a carry-on toilet to a home brewing kit for beer.

The AFA’s proposed solution? Stricter laws limiting the maximum size of carry-on items. This may be a safety precaution, but we predict consumer revolts.

Carry-On Bags Survey Results [AFA]
Flight Attendants Battle ‘Carry-on Crunch’ [ABC News] (Thanks, Adam!)

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