What Should Go in My Personal Item for a Long International Flight?

The cannot-board-without list

• Passport, visa and tickets, plus a photocopy or offline copy of each on your phone.
• Wallet and cards. Keep one card separate from the wallet in case the bag walks away.
• Medicines you may need on board. IndiGo's item table allows non-prescribed medicines in the cabin, and IndiGo recommends all medication travels in cabin baggage rather than checked. Keep whatever you may need on board within reach.

Electronics and the power-bank rule

• Phone, laptop or tablet, and their chargers. IndiGo's item table allows mobile and laptop chargers in both cabin and check-in, but chargers in the hold do nothing for you at 35,000 feet. Cabin.
• Power bank: cabin only. IndiGo's cabin page requires power banks and spare lithium batteries in hand baggage, kept within reach, not used, charged or recharged during the flight, a maximum of two devices per passenger, each not exceeding 160 Wh, with the power rating visible on the battery. IATA's traveller guidance adds that batteries over 100 Wh can need the airline's approval, so if yours sits between 100 and 160 Wh, check with IndiGo before you fly, and that if your hand baggage is taken at the gate to go in the aircraft hold, all lithium batteries and devices come out first. It also advises telling crew immediately if a device runs hot, smokes or is damaged.
• Earphones and an adapter if your seat needs one.

Liquids: the 100 ml gate

Through security, liquids in the cabin follow the rule IndiGo publishes: containers of maximum 100 ml each, all fitting comfortably into one transparent resealable 1-litre plastic bag. That covers sanitiser, lip balm and moisturiser, which you will want on a long sector. Water for the flight falls under the same up-to-100 ml cabin rule in IndiGo's table, so plan to buy water after security instead.

The long-haul comfort layer

• A warm layer or large scarf. Cabins get cold at hour six.
• Neck pillow, eye mask, earplugs if you plan to sleep.
• A change of top and basic toiletries within the liquid limits, in case your checked bag arrives a day later than you do.
• Snacks for the gap between your hunger and the airline's meal trolley.
• Something to read or watch offline. Download before you leave home wifi.

Keep this bag small enough to fit under the seat. IndiGo allows one personal article, such as a purse or a small bag containing a laptop, up to 3 kg in addition to the 7 kg cabin bag; if you are unsure how the two bags differ, our cabin-bag-versus-personal-item article breaks it down.

Common questions

Does the power bank go in the personal item or the cabin bag?
Either, as long as it is in the cabin. IndiGo requires power banks in hand baggage only, within reach, not used or charged during the flight, maximum two per passenger, each up to 160 Wh; per IATA's guidance, anything over 100 Wh can need the airline's approval, so check with IndiGo in advance. Never in checked baggage.

Can I carry my medicines in the personal item?
Yes, and you should. IndiGo's item table allows non-prescribed medicines in the cabin, and IndiGo recommends medication travel in the cabin rather than checked baggage.

Can I take water for the flight?
Not through security beyond the 100 ml container rule. The simple plan: buy water after security.

How big can the personal item be on IndiGo?
IndiGo permits one personal article, such as a ladies' purse or a small bag containing a laptop, weighing not more than 3 kg, in addition to the 7 kg cabin bag.

What if security takes my cabin bag at the gate?
Per IATA's guidance, remove all lithium batteries, power banks and devices before the bag goes into the hold. Your personal item, which stays with you, is exactly where they should already be.

Sources checked on 24 October 2026: IndiGo cabin baggage, IndiGo baggage allowance, IndiGo dangerous goods policy, IATA passenger lithium battery guidance. Comfort items are suggestions; the rules quoted belong to the sources named.