When did it suddenly become so popular for everyone to start wearing fanny packs across their body? The actual origin of this trend is a little murky, but the trend certainly took off between 2022 and 2023 when almost every second person seemed to be wearing a Lululemon fanny pack across their body.
It wasn’t just the Lululemon version that became a must-have. Japanese retailer Uniqlo brought out a banana-shaped bag to be worn around the body at around this time, and it became the fashion brand’s best-selling bag of all time.
Rather than hauling a big rucksack around with you or stuffing your pockets, these bags have become an easy way to pack light while still having all your essentials at hand: wallet, mobile phone, chapstick, keys, hand sanitizer, and lip gloss. It all goes into the cross-body bag.
They go everywhere, but there’s one place where wearing one could get you a stern telling off, and that’s on an airplane.
According to the union that represents flight attendants at Alaska Airlines they’ve seen an uptick in passengers trying to wear their crossbody bags for takeoff and landing, not wanting to part with their valuables.
On the face of it, it’s hard to see what’s wrong with wearing a cross body bag. In the event of an emergency, passengers can escape with all their essentials without impeding anyone elses exit, although that kind of logic doesn’t always work in aviation.
Whether you like it or not, cross-body bags are meant to be removed and stowed – either in an overhead locker or under the seat in front – for both takeoff and landing.
It’s a federal regulation that has been in existence for decades and, perhaps unsurprisingly, these kinds of rules aren’t regularly updated to keep up with emerging fashion trends.
Passengers should have every right to be confused, though. Some flight attendants find it hard to enforce that doesn’t make sense to them… in fact, they might not even realize that all bags need to be properly stowed and not worn.
The issue at Alaska Airlines is becoming so tricky that the airline is about to introduce a new announcement for gate agents to read, reminding passengers to stow all their bags. A second announcement could also be introduced onboard.
Yes, this doesn’t make much sense. You could be wearing a coat with all the same items in your cross-body bag stuffed in the pockets, but that’s just how these kinds of regulations operate.
If you do want to keep some valuable essentials close at hand then consider wearing a money belt underneaht your top… this is considered an item of clothing and not a bag.
I think you are missing the point – the bag can get caught on the armrests, for example, and that would stop the wearer (or at least slow them down) in leaving the plane in an emergency. Wearing a coat with the same stuff in the pockets is not the same.
Reminds me of another safety issue – the laptop in the front seat pocket during takeoff/landing – if the plane was to suddenly stop/crash/other rapid movement, that same laptop can fly out and seriously injure someone – it’s not secured, it’s heavy enough to injure, and it easily could fly anywhere in the cabin.
I have worn such items on my person on airplanes and NEVER had the caught on armrests! Not even close! That is ridiculous!