Is it true that it is forbidden to bring fruits in hand luggage in baskets from South Africa?

Although some bloggers and so-called "guidebooks" on the Internet write a lot about the fact that it is forbidden to carry "fruit baskets" from South Africa by one or another airline, in fact, carrying baskets with fruits in hand luggage and checked baggage is not prohibited. The problem is that many bloggers do not delve into the essence of such "prohibitions" and provide unreliable or incomplete information, or perhaps they simply do not have reliable information. The essence is that baskets and fruits themselves do not pose a danger for transportation on an airplane, and therefore are not among the prohibited items, and are allowed for transportation on airplanes both in hand luggage and in checked baggage. That is, in reality, in the norms of airlines and airports, there is no such prohibition on carrying "fruit baskets" either in hand luggage or in checked baggage.

However, there is a small grain of truth in what bloggers tell and tourists write in reviews. The fact is that some airlines, mainly those working with tour operators and performing charter flights on tours, allow or allowed to carry, in addition to the standard allowance of hand luggage and checked baggage, also a basket with fruits, which does not need to be paid extra. That is, it is a kind of "bonus" that applies mainly on charter flights for Russian package tourists. However, in recent years, some airlines have begun to prohibit the carriage of this additional basket, or allow its carriage only for a fee, as a full additional piece of hand luggage. From here, apparently, the myth was born that baskets with fruits are forbidden to be carried in hand luggage.

So, in fact, it turns out: you can carry a basket with fruits in hand luggage or checked baggage on an airplane, and there is no prohibition on this, unless, of course, your basket meets the airline's norms and specifically for your ticket. However, it is worth noting that the airline's norms for weight, size, and number of pieces may differ among different airlines, on different flights, and under different fare types, so this should be clarified before each specific flight in the route receipt for the flight, on the airline's website, or with the tour operator. If you want to carry a basket in addition to hand luggage and this is not allowed by the rules on a specific flight, you will have to pay for it.

Just in case, we will also add that there is another myth according to which fruits can be carried on an airplane only in a basket. This is also unreliable information, and there are no rules on this matter. That is, you can carry fruits in any container, suitcase, backpack, bag, package, etc., as long as its weight and dimensions correspond to the norms of carriage by size and weight.

Well, additionally, here is a link to our guide to exotic fruits with their photos and names, read it and you will know everything - https://nashaplaneta.net/fruits/fruits.html 👍

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