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• CiCi has worked as a flight attendant at a major airline for six years.
• She shared the biggest mistakes she sees passengers make when packing a carry-on suitcase.
• From overpacking to forgetting a reusable water bottle, here are common errors travelers make.

After working as a flight attendant, CiCi has a newfound love for both the sky and packing suitcases.

Prior to being a flight attendant, CiCi told Business Insider that she owned companies and worked in real estate. Six years ago, she made a career switch, and today, she works for a major airline. CiCi asked BI to omit her full name and the airline she works for, for privacy reasons. BI was able to verify CiCi's employment.

"I have loved it," CiCi, who posts about her job under the username @cici_inthesky, said. "It's a completely different lifestyle than what I have lived for the past 20-some years."

One of the biggest lifestyle changes has been how she packs, and she said she's not the only one who makes mistakes when it comes to organizing a suitcase for a flight.

Every day, she witnesses passengers making mistakes with their carry-on bags. Some can force travelers to check their bags — which can be costly since most major airlines have raised their checked-bag fees in 2024, according to Condé Nast Traveler.

Here are the common — and avoidable — mistakes CiCi sees.

CiCi said the biggest mistake she's seen is when travelers pack their bags so full that they can't lift them into overhead bins.

CiCi said she constantly sees passengers who can't pick up their carry-on bags and must ask for help from other passengers or a flight attendant. But she stressed that lifting suitcases is not part of her job.

CiCi said she doesn't want to risk hurting herself by lifting someone else's bag. Airlines can have policies preventing flight attendants from lifting passengers' suitcases, meaning that if a flight attendant gets injured while helping with suitcases, they may not receive worker's compensation.

CiCi said passengers should be confident and comfortable lifting their luggage.

Some airlines, like Frontier Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, have rules about how much your suitcase can weigh. So if your bag is overstuffed and weighs too much, depending on the airline, you might have to check it at the gate. This can add unwanted time to your travel, CiCi said.

She said passengers need to stop bringing more than two bags on the plane.

CiCi said she often sees people flying with a roller suitcase, a backpack, and a purse — that's one too many carry-on bags, according to airline rules, which can result in gate agents asking passengers to consolidate their belongings into two bags.

Most airlines allow passengers to store one item in the overhead bin and fit one personal item below the seat in front of them.

CiCi said passengers should fit their belongings into the allotted number of bags for their airline, noting that some airlines charge extra for carry-on suitcases.

Passengers whose essentials aren't easily accessible can cause boarding delays.

CiCi said passengers who need to access their carry-on suitcases can sometimes cause delays in boarding. She tells passengers to pack everything they need for a flight in their personal item.

"People put things that they need on the plane — like their book and their earbuds or whatever they're going to need — inside their suitcase," she said. "And it's not easy to access."

A passenger who has to get in their suitcase and sift through their belongings during boarding can block other passengers from their seats and cause delays, CiCi said.

Waiting until they're in midair to get items from their suitcase is risky too — turbulence could've shifted the bags in the overhead bin, which might cause them to fall and injure someone.

CiCi said her advice is to make sure all your flight essentials are in your personal item, which will be within reach during the flight.

Many passengers don't pack their liquids correctly.

The changing altitudes an airplane experiences cause gases to expand during a flight, which can, in turn, cause toiletries or water bottles to leak in your carry-on, according to The Points Guy.

CiCi said that in her experience observing passengers' TSA-approved liquids, "people's stuff leaks all over the place." She said she had a few tips.

First, squeeze as much air out of the bottle as possible. She said this would help prevent expansion.

Perhaps most importantly, she said, choose travel-sized containers wisely. CiCi said that she's tried dozens of travel-sized containers designed to prevent leaks and that the ones she's had the most success with have screw-on caps instead of snap tops. She said she thinks these create a tighter seal to help prevent leaking.

Passengers make the mistake of not packing a reusable water bottle.

CiCi said it's important to stay hydrated on a flight.

The Aerospace Medical Association recommends that travelers drink 8 ounces of water each hour on a plane.

And while you can't bring more than 3 ounces of liquids on the plane, you can bring a frozen water bottle or an empty water bottle you can fill once you're inside the airport terminal, CiCi said. The Transportation Security Administration says solid frozen liquids are allowed through security.

She said some travelers forget to pack their own snacks.

CiCi said turbulence during the summer can get intense; according to Plane & Pilot magazine, the high heat causes more convective turbulence in the sky. CiCi said that when there's a lot of turbulence, flight attendants are sometimes required to be seated for an entire flight.

If flight attendants can't get up, passengers don't get snacks or beverages. Some airlines, like Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air, have ditched the complimentary snack service and offer drinks and snacks for sale.

CiCi suggests passengers be prepared with their own snacks. She said that beyond fruits like apples and oranges, she always has a few bags of nuts in her luggage.

CiCi said she sometimes sees passengers packing heavy items instead of wearing them on the plane.

CiCi said that if you're flying with just a carry-on, wear your heavy items on the plane instead of packing them.

She said she's sometimes shocked to speak to passengers who are traveling far with just a carry-on and wearing light airplane attire.

That's not what CiCi does. She said that on a recent flight to Italy, she wore her bulky rain boots, a sweater, and a jacket — even though she was flying out of hot, humid Florida. She added that this saved her a significant amount of space in her carry-on and allowed her to pack more outfits for her trip.

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