Safari Luggage Weight Limits for East Africa Bush Flights, Carrier by Carrier

Safari luggage weight limits are set by the small aircraft that link the parks, and on most East African bush flights the limit is 15 kg per person, hand luggage included, usually in a soft bag. A few carriers allow 20 kg, a freight seat can carry about 75 kg more, and an international ticket gives you 23 kg or more per bag, which is where multi-country trips go wrong. This guide sets out each carrier, with sources checked 11 October 2026.

Written by Paramount Gorilla Expeditions Team East Africa. Facts last checked 11 October 2026.

Baggage rules change without notice and most carrier pages show no effective date, so we link the carrier pages and reconfirm every limit in writing when we quote.

Safari luggage weight limits by carrier

Every bush airline publishes its own bush plane luggage limit. The table lists the carriers you are most likely to meet, plus one we could not verify. Read the hand luggage column first: on nearly every bush flight your camera bag and day pack are part of the allowance, not an extra.

We found no official Regional Air baggage page. Safarilink's 20 kg routes on its page are Zanzibar, Kisumu, Diani, Lamu, Malindi, Entebbe and Mombasa.

Reading the safari luggage weight limits for your route

Use the lowest of the safari baggage limits on your route. A Kenya and Tanzania itinerary that mixes Safarilink, Coastal and Auric Air is a 15 kg trip, even though one airline in the chain allows 20 kg. Safarilink says check-in may allow up to 2 kg of leeway at its discretion, and AirKenya sells soft bags at Wilson Airport in Nairobi. Skyward Express is the odd one out, a conventional scheduled carrier with no safari policy that we found. In Rwanda we found no scheduled bush airline, only an operator table listing helicopter flights at 15 kg in a soft bag.

For gorilla trekkers in Uganda, the carrier that matters is Aerolink Uganda on the Entebbe to Kisoro and Kihihi routes, about 1 hour 15, with a limit of about 15 kg in a soft bag (confirm before you book). Our safari flight logistics guide covers the schedules.

Where the sources disagree on safari luggage weight limits

Why safari luggage weight limits are so low, and the bag they need

Safari luggage weight limits are low because the aircraft are small. No carrier publishes its weight calculations, so this is our reading of what the published rules show. A light aircraft has a fixed payload to share between passengers, bags and fuel, and a limited hold. Coastal says a hard case must fit the cargo-pod door, a lodge operator describes Aerolink's Grand Caravans as carrying bags in a pod, and Safarilink warns that rigid suitcases are harder to stow and may travel on a later flight.

The clearest sign that the bush plane luggage limit is about payload is Safarilink's charter rule: 15 kg per person in soft bags when every seat is used, and more when seats are empty. One agent guide also reports that some charters cap a passenger at 100 kg and require an extra seat above that. We could not confirm it with a carrier, so treat it as a reason to ask, not a rule.

Choosing a soft duffel bag for safari flights

A soft duffel bag is a fabric bag with no wheels, frame or hard shell, so it squashes into the gaps in a pod. The right soft duffel bag is plain and sturdy, not a wheeled trolley. We advise one duffel plus one small day pack, and the roller suitcase left at home or at your gateway hotel.

Safari bag size: the numbers carriers publish

Published figures vary. AirKenya gives 60 x 45 x 33 cm for a checked bag, Coastal gives 40 x 40 x 80 cm for a soft duffel, and Auric Air allows up to 90 x 65 x 35 cm per piece. AirKenya's is the tightest carrier-published size, so a soft bag near 60 x 45 x 33 cm when full is the safest buy. That is our recommendation, not a carrier rule, and a soft bag compresses, so the test is how it lies in the pod, not a tape measure.

Hand luggage, cameras and long lenses under the 15 kg limit

Cameras are usually the heaviest single category in your safari luggage weight limits, and the carriers treat them differently. Auric Air counts cameras and filming equipment inside its 20 kg. AirKenya counts personal items, up to 5 kg, inside the 15 kg. Safarilink includes hand baggage in its figure. Only on international legs do you get a separate allowance: Kenya Airways, for example, lets you carry an accessory item such as a handbag, camera or laptop on top of the cabin bag, up to 40 x 15 x 30 cm.

That produces a common surprise. A photographer arrives with a 23 kg suitcase and a 9 kg camera bag, which is fine on the international flight, and then discovers that the bush flight counts both toward the same 15 kg. On a bush flight, camera gear has to be weighed into the light aircraft baggage allowance for safari, 15 kg or 20 kg, not added after.

How to plan camera gear around the limit

• Weigh the camera bag with everything in it. Include lenses, batteries, chargers, cards and the bag itself, then weigh the whole load together with the duffel.
• Choose one long lens, not three. A single long lens and a standard zoom cover most game-drive situations, and it is the lens that usually decides whether you need extra weight.
• Consider a freight seat or an XL seat. Coastal sells a premium (XL) seat that allows 30 kg subject to availability, and Safarilink, AirKenya and Auric Air sell a freight seat. Both are covered in the next section.
• Keep the fragile gear in your hand. Hand luggage counts toward the allowance, but lenses belong with you, not in the duffel.

Excess baggage, the freight seat and charter flights

Excess baggage is a favour, not a right, under safari luggage weight limits. Every carrier in the table accepts extra weight only at its discretion, and AirKenya says it may be unavailable on the day. Arrange extra weight in advance, in writing, through your operator.

Safarilink's advance rates carry a 2023/2024 label on its page, so confirm current rates before relying on them.

What excess baggage costs in practice

Our arithmetic, assuming the excess is accepted: 18 kg on AirKenya means 3 kg over, so USD 15. A 26 kg bag on an Auric Air bush route is 6 kg over the 20 kg limit, so one 10 kg slab at USD 60. For a few kilograms, excess is manageable. For a second photographer's worth of gear, consider the freight seat.

The freight seat explained

A freight seat is a seat bought for baggage instead of a person. On Safarilink, AirKenya and Auric Air it carries 75 kg extra, and on AirKenya it can be pre-booked. It is priced as a seat fare, which varies by route, so we quote no figure. Whether one freight seat can be shared across a party is for the airline or your operator to confirm.

Charter flights and baggage

A private charter does not remove the soft bag for safari flights rule. Safarilink's charter page gives 15 kg per person in soft bags when every seat is used, and more if seats are empty, on aircraft of 5, 12, 37, 50 or 52 seats. Aerolink Uganda takes charters on request with no published baggage figure, and Coastal lets you charter a whole aircraft. Ask for the allowance for your exact aircraft in writing.

The multi-country trap: a 23 kg bag meeting a 15 kg bush flight

This is the part most guides skip. Your long-haul and regional tickets allow generous bags, then a bush flight in the middle of the itinerary applies safari luggage weight limits of 15 kg. Arrive in Kigali or Entebbe with two 23 kg bags and you hold 46 kg against a 15 kg limit on the Nairobi Wilson to Mara light aircraft, a gap of about 31 kg to solve at the gateway. The pattern applies to every route that mixes countries, such as our Rwanda Kenya Tanzania safari route guide and the routes in the multi-country hub.

Storing luggage at the gateway

The standard fix is storing luggage: you pack a safari duffel for the bush legs and leave the rest where you will pass again. Three official offers are on record. Safarilink offers a free secure store at its Wilson Airport office, AirKenya offers free storage for returning passengers, and Coastal offers storage at its Terminal 1 airport office in Dar es Salaam. Two outfitter guides suggest the gateway airport or hotel. We did not research a storage policy at Entebbe or Kigali, so ask your hotel to confirm in writing that it will hold a bag, for how long, and whether it charges.

Laundry on a long route

Laundry is the other half of packing light. One safari guide says many lodges offer laundry, so you can pack for a few days and wash. We did not research individual lodge policies, so ask at booking whether laundry is included and how long it takes.

The safest answer to safari baggage limits combines all three: a soft duffel for the route, a day pack for hand luggage, and one stored bag at a gateway you return to. Where you return is decided by the flights in our safari flight logistics guide, and fly-in or road safari compares the road, which avoids the aircraft limits.

International allowances: RwandAir, Kenya Airways and Uganda Airlines

The three carriers that connect the gateway cities publish far larger allowances than any bush plane luggage limit. They are the other half of the multi-country trap, so check them for the exact fare you buy.

A 2018 trade report said Kenya Airways cut intra-Africa economy to one 23 kg bag; its current page says two, so verify on your own fare.

What the international numbers mean for you

Three points follow. Allowances differ by fare and by day, so read the rule on your ticket. Cabin bags are 10 kg on Kenya Airways and RwandAir and 7 kg on Uganda Airlines, generous compared with a bush plane. And the airline is not the limit that matters: on a Kigali, Nairobi, Mara route, the Mara flight sets it. RwandAir lists East Africa excess rates, but the page looks unfinished, so we do not quote them.

Ethiopian Airlines ties its allowance to the route, and we found no confirmed figure for Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi or Kilimanjaro, so use its baggage calculator. Entry rules for the same routes are in our East Africa tourist visa guide.

How to pack to the 15 kg limit without suffering

Packing within safari luggage weight limits is a method, not a sacrifice. We describe categories here and leave the full list to our East Africa safari packing list, which covers what to bring and why.

1. Find the lowest of your safari baggage limits. Ask your operator which bush carriers you will fly and whether hand luggage counts. If any flight is 15 kg, everything fits 15 kg.
2. Weigh everything together. Pack the duffel, the day pack and the camera bag, then weigh them as one load on a luggage scale, not one at a time.
3. Cut by category, not by item. Clothing, footwear, wash kit, electronics and camera gear, medication and documents are the categories. Clothing and footwear usually give the biggest saving, and electronics the most stubborn weight.
4. Choose clothes that work together. Neutral layers that mix and match, quick-drying fabrics, and a plan to wash them mean fewer garments.
5. Wear the heaviest things. Boots and the warmest jacket are better worn on the flight than packed.
6. Decant and share. Small bottles for the wash kit, and one charger or power bank per travelling party where that is sensible.
7. Leave the rest. Anything you will not need on the bush legs goes into the stored bag.

For the wider decisions behind the pack, see our first-time safari planning guide.

Drones and plastic bags: two cautioned notes

These two rules decide what goes in the bag, and both carry caveats because we could not read every primary source.

Drones

Leave the drone at home unless permits are arranged in each country in advance. Uganda's guidelines, as reported in 2020, describe a chain of approvals from the Ministry, the Chief of Defence Forces, the revenue authority and the aviation authority, plus a permit fee; that is a secondary report, and the chain is impractical for a visitor. Rwanda's Civil Aviation Authority asks you to declare a drone to the Rwanda National Police at entry and requires an activity permit and registration. Visit Rwanda says the permit takes about 2 to 4 weeks and that foreigners cannot register a drone themselves. Neither page covers national parks, and the RCAA drones page has the rules we read. Kenya and Tanzania sources are secondary guides that treat parks and reserves as no-fly without written approval. We did not read the Kenyan or Tanzanian aviation authority pages.

Plastic bags

Rwanda's Law No 17/2019 prohibits the import and use of plastic carry bags and single-use plastics. We read it through a university copy, not the Official Gazette, and found no exemption for tourists and no mention of luggage or airports. Kenya's ban is described in press reports, which say zip-lock food bags may be covered while reusable zippered pouches are allowed. We did not research Uganda or Tanzania. Our advice is to use cloth or paper bags, carry none that you do not need, and ask us if you are unsure.

Gorilla trek day bag and porters

On a trek the duffel stays at the lodge and you carry a light day pack, so the bush plane luggage limit does not apply on the mountain. One operator guide lists what to take: water, snacks, sun protection, binoculars, a phone, a light rain jacket, spare camera batteries and memory cards. Another gives two litres of water.

Is there a porter weight limit?

We found no official weight limit for porters from the Uganda Wildlife Authority or the Rwanda Development Board. One blog says porters usually carry up to 15 to 20 kg, and one forum comment says a porter takes a maximum of one 15 kg bag. Several other operator pages we read give no limit. Fees quoted by operators range from about USD 10 to 25 per trek and are unverified, so confirm the rate and the rules at the park briefing.

Our recommendation, not a published rule: a porter carries your day pack, not your duffel, so keep that pack light. One operator guide says backpacks and walking sticks are left with the porter before you approach the gorillas. Our account of the trek day describes the hike, and the gorilla trekking fitness guide covers how hard it is.

Who safari luggage weight limits affect most, and common mistakes

Safari baggage limits touch nearly every guest on a fly-in itinerary, but some travellers feel them more.

• Photographers and videographers. Camera gear is heavy and counts toward the limit.
• Multi-country travellers. They arrive with international-size bags and meet a bush flight halfway.
• Families. The total is per person, so each child's bag counts, and children's clothes still add up.

Common mistakes

• Ignoring safari bag size and softness. AirKenya and Aerolink want soft bags, and Safarilink warns that rigid cases may follow on a later flight.
• Forgetting that hand luggage counts. The camera bag is inside the 15 kg on Safarilink, AirKenya, Coastal and Aerolink.
• Assuming every carrier allows 20 kg. Only Auric Air and Skyward do, and Safarilink on a short list of routes.
• Leaving a bag in Nairobi on a one-way route. Storage works only when you return.
• Counting on excess at the strip. Excess is at the captain's discretion and may be unavailable on the day.
• Buying a freight seat late. Safarilink's advance rates close 48 hours before departure.
• Trusting an old figure. Check the date on any guide, including this one.

What most guides get wrong about safari luggage weight limits

Three errors recur. Some give one figure for every bush plane, when Auric Air is 20 kg and most others are 15 kg. Some say hard cases are never allowed, when Coastal publishes a hard case size. And some copy a draft or an old trade report, which is how a 15 kg figure for Auric and a one-bag rule for Kenya Airways persist.

Next steps: plan around your safari luggage weight limits

Tell us which countries you are visiting and what you carry, and our planners in Entebbe and Kakindu will name the lowest limit on your route, arrange freight seats or storage in writing, and tell you plainly where a road transfer is the better choice. Routes that cross several countries usually include light-aircraft legs, so the 15 kg limit often applies. We confirm which flights each itinerary uses:

• The 14 day four country safari crosses all four countries.
• The 12 day Uganda Rwanda Tanzania safari pairs Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.
• The 10 day Rwanda Kenya Tanzania safari runs through the Mara and the Serengeti link.

For how the flights fit together, see the Uganda Kenya Tanzania route guide and the Uganda Rwanda Kenya Tanzania safari guide.

Written by Paramount Gorilla Expeditions Team East Africa. Facts last checked 11 October 2026.