14 CFR § 251.3 - Small musical instruments as carry-on baggage.
---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t14/s251.3"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "14 CFR § 251.3 - Small musical instruments as carry-on baggage."
title_number: 14
title_name: "Aeronautics and Space"
section_number: "251.3"
section_name: "Small musical instruments as carry-on baggage."
chapter_name: "OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS)"
subchapter_number: "A"
subchapter_name: "ECONOMIC REGULATIONS"
part_number: "251"
part_name: "CARRIAGE OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "49 U.S.C. 41724."
regulatory_source: "80 FR 166, Jan. 5, 2015, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "251"
---
# 251.3 Small musical instruments as carry-on baggage.
Each covered carrier shall permit a passenger to carry a violin, guitar, or other small musical instrument in the aircraft cabin, without charging the passenger a fee in addition to any standard fee that carrier may require for comparable carry-on baggage, if:
(a) The instrument can be stowed safely in a suitable baggage compartment in the aircraft cabin or under a passenger seat, in accordance with the requirements for carriage of carry-on baggage or cargo established by the FAA; and
(b) There is space for such stowage at the time the passenger boards the aircraft.