Jetstar passenger reveals his McDonald's bag trick to beat the airline's 7kg carry-on limit

Published: 00:18, 3 July 2026 | Updated: 00:19, 3 July 2026 A frequent Jetstar passenger has shared his fail-safe hack for sneaking extra luggage onto flights by stuffing heavy items into a McDonald's bag. According to the airline's website, passengers are generally limited to 7kg of carry-on baggage and can be charged at least $60 if they exceed the allowance. But Hayden Smith, the co-founder of an investment app, said he used a takeaway bag to avoid paying the extra fee. 'I once kept a McDonald's bag and put some heavy stuff in there, just in my hand,' he said on the Get Rich Slow podcast. 'If they see it, they're like, "they've clearly come to the airport with their 7kg and then they bought McDonald's". 'They're not gonna ask me to put my McDonald's bag on the scale.'  Mr Smith said he filled the bag with chargers, power banks and other heavy items, and kept it solely for that purpose. To ensure he could bring as many items onto the plane as possible without paying an extra fee, he wore additional clothing such as jumpers to lighten the load. Hayden Smith (pictured) said he used a McDonald's takeaway bag to sneak extra weight onto Jetstar flights, allowing him to get around the airline's 7kg carry-on baggage limit According to the airline's website, passengers are generally limited to 7kg of carry-on baggage and can be charged at least $60 if they exceed the allowance  Mr Smith also said being the final passenger to board increased the chances of getting away with an overweight carry-on bag.  'If you're the last one to get on the plane, there's probably a four in five chance they won't care,' he said. As someone who regularly travels with more than 7kg, Mr Smith said he believed carry-on restrictions should be based on size rather than weight.  The Daily Mail has reached out to Jetstar for comment. Mr Smith is not the first to criticise the policy. A British expat slammed Jetstar's baggage policy after being forced to remove 3kg from her luggage before takeoff, only to carry the items on board by hand. Sydney, a midwife and social media influencer, was flying from Brisbane to Melbourne in May last year when she was asked to weigh her bags.  Jetstar staff told her she was going to be charged $70 since her bags exceeded the 7kg carry-on limit. As staff watched, Sydney removed items from her bags until they fell within the weight limit. After staff verified the bags complied, she was permitted to board.  British expat Sydney (pictured) has previously expressed frustration with Jetstar's carry-on policy after exceeding the 7kg limit and being allowed to carry the excess items on her person Sydney said she found it difficult to understand that she could carry the excess items on her person while keeping her bags below the 7kg limit.  'Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous. Tell me how that makes any sense whatsoever,' she said in video on social media. 'They let you remove everything from your bag so all of my water, my snacks, my book. I can hold [it], and then they weigh the bag again.' Jetstar said at the time that its carry-on baggage policies were designed to ensure a 'smooth boarding process' that allowed bags to be stowed safely. Despite having to take items out of her bag in order to get on the plane, Sydney commended staff for not raising a fuss. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.