What is ‘flying naked,’ the recent trend in air travel?

After interesting travel trends in the past few months like ‘off-peak travel,’ ‘raw dogging’, and ‘gate escape,’ a new trend is all the rage. 'Flying naked,' the new trend in town, might sound questionable and provocative, but the conservative lot need not worry - in fact, you might like it too! Flying naked simply means travelling with little to no luggage. Those who fly frequently follow this trend by significantly reducing the number of bags or getting rid of luggage altogether.
Luggage handling often becomes a headache during air travel as it consumes time, money and effort. Most passengers realise that their luggage weighs more than the stipulated weight only during baggage check-in at the airport. Some try to avoid fines or additional charges by wearing multiple layers of clothing or switching stuff with other passengers. Meanwhile, many are also willing to pay the additional baggage fee.

The most amazing advantage of flying naked is avoiding the complexities of baggage check-in. The travellers board the aircraft with nothing but clothes on their backs and perhaps a few essentials like mobile phones and chargers tucked into their pockets. The concept of flying naked soon captured the attention of frequent flyers when it blew up on social media. Besides simplifying the check-in procedures, flying naked reduces the chance of baggage loss and damage to your things and saves you from managing huge and multiple bags.

Easy to save money
Flying naked is a cost-saving hack as you could easily avoid luggage fees at the airport. In 2023, airline companies collected around 33 billion dollars (around Rs 2.9 billion) for luggage fees alone. Passengers could save money by getting rid of additional luggage.

Another advantage of flying naked is that it helps you save time significantly. Check-in becomes hassle-free if you have minimal luggage. Besides, packing and travelling to the airport become easier. Moreover, travelling with minimal luggage reduces stress as you can focus more on the wonderful experiences that await you rather than getting stressed about baggage check-in.

Not suitable for all
Although flying naked has many advantages, this may not be suitable for all types of flyers. The number of bags may go up if you are travelling with family. Flying naked may be impractical, depending upon the availability and price of things at your destination. Some travellers send their luggage as cargo on ships. This is an effective and cheaper method if you have too much luggage. Wearing multiple layers of clothes, too, may not be practical, especially when the checking at the airport terminals is stricter.

As always, social media is divided about the concept of flying naked. Those who support it claim that flying naked is as easy as travelling in a city bus. However, people have also been pointing out how it is impractical and unreasonable. The flying community has always wanted to travel with minimal luggage. Meanwhile, the question arises here is whether the luggage is important or the traveller. Those who follow naked flying vow that they can enjoy the experience of flying better when they travel with minimal luggage.