First up, place the bike upright inside the bag and slip the wheels into the side pouches.

It’s worth deflating the tyres if only to pacify the checking in staff, but leave some air inside the tubes to help protect the wheel rims.

The handlebar can be secured easily by placing at least one of the drops under the top tube. A few heavy duty elastic bands work well here instead of the ubiquitous electrical tape. If there’s room in the bottom of the bag take your track pump as you’re going to need it to inflate your tyres to the correct levels.

Some manufacturers, including Lezyne, have a miniature travel pump which will take up less room in a bag while still enabling you to get the tyres up to full pressure without breaking a sweat.  Place plenty of extra bubble wrap around the bike to pad it out for extra protection.

Cardboard sheets from old bike boxes from the bike shop work well as added protection too. If you think you’ll still be under the weight limit it’s worth putting any tools or some cycle kit inside the bag. Don’t leave any small items lose; always wrap them and secure them if possible.

Zip up the bag and secure any fitted straps over or around the bag. It might be wise not to fit a padlock to the bag, just in case airport security needs to take a peek inside.

Now you’ve done all you can before you wave goodbye to your bike at the airport, but it’s also worth considering what might happen at the other end, too.