The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA says a recent membership survey has found that half of responding flight attendants said they had witnessed carry-on items falling from overhead bins in the previous 60 days. The survey validated anecdotal reports that carry-on baggage is out of control, mostly due to recent fees to check luggage, the association says.

"We now have compelling evidence that flight attendants and passengers are being injured by excess amounts of oversized carry-on items," says Patricia Friend, the association's international president. "AFA-CWA has been urging Congress, government agencies, and carriers to establish reasonable carry-on limitations that will improve the overall safety, health, and security of crew and passengers inside the aircraft cabin. These limits will reduce injuries and distractions caused by carry-ons and allow flight attendants to devote more attention to the critical task of ensuring the safest and most secure flight possible."

The survey found that more than 80 percent of flight attendants sustained injuries over the past year due to dealing with carry-ons in overhead bins. The most common injuries were strained and pulled muscles in the neck, arms, and upper back. The survey was compiled from a representative sample of the association's 50,000 members at 22 U.S. airlines.

The association last month also launched a new Web site, at www.EndCarryonCrunch.org, aimed at encouraging the traveling public to write to Congress to urge passage of legislation that would ease the carry-on situation.

A bill currently in the U.S. House of Representatives offers to set one standard for all bags carried onboard U.S. commercial aircraft. The Securing Carry-On Baggage Act, H.R. 2870, would create a universal size for carry-on bags, instead of allowing each carrier to determine its own size requirements, and would require the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to enforce the rules.

The Association of Flight Attendants says it has been representing flight attendants' interests in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media, and on Capitol Hill for more than 60 years. It is part of the 700,000-member Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO, organization.