European consumer organizations accuse low-cost airlines of illegally exploiting passengers with hidden carry-on fees. In Spain, five of them were fined 179 million euros
Travelers across Europe are increasingly protesting against the high and often unpredictable costs that are crippling airlines charge for carry-on luggage, especially with low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, EasyJet and Wizz Air,
Due to additional fees, i.e. hidden costs, Spain decided to fine five airlines that charged passengers extra for hand luggage, and the fight against this practice of air carriers has also spread to other countries.
The fight against low-budget companies
European consumer organizations have asked the European Union to intervene, accusing airlines of exploiting consumers and ignoring rulings by Europe's highest courts. 1 of them joined Spain's legal battle against low-cost airlines that continuously charge for larger hand luggage, writes New Economy.
Airline tickets are skyrocketing: How to fly cheaper, even in season
The action was triggered by a €179 million fine imposed in November 2024 by Spain's Minister for Consumer Protection, Pablo Bustinda, on five companies for practices considered unfair, such as charging for carry-on luggage.
What do the rules say?
The rules on the size of bags that can be brought into the cabin are increasingly strict, and the prices for additional bags vary depending on the airline and the route.
In the case of Ryanair, passengers can bring a smaller bag that fits under the seat free of charge, but if the staff judge the bag to be larger than the allowance, the fine is £60. For a larger cabin bag, passengers pay between £36 and £75 depending on the destination, while there is an additional charge of £XNUMX if the bag is too large.
What a plane ticket should entail
Agustín Reyna of the European consumer umbrella organization said it was high time that EU laws clearly defined what a basic air ticket should include - including hand luggage of reasonable dimensions.
Also, it is requested to specify the size and weight of "reasonable luggage" in order to avoid uncertainties and additional costs at the airport.
Although the rulings from Spain are not binding on other EU countries, nor on the UK, they could serve as an example and trigger a wider legal debate.
Some lawyers estimate that a higher level of consumer protection can be expected, but that this could also lead to higher ticket prices, which again puts the burden back on passengers.
The director of the lobby group Airlines for Europe (A4E) Ourania Georgoutsakou responded to these accusations that the change in legal practice would "reduce consumer choice and force all passengers to pay for services they may not want," as requiring everyone to carry hand luggage would force "up to 50 million passengers in Spain alone to pay for something they do not need."
Like before Caro Claire Burke not only exposed the false image of a traditional woman in America, but also showed the level of women's rights in general - feminists claim. This novel is a direct attack on the traditional way of life - according to conservative Christian women
Forty years of a hairy creature who survived a nuclear disaster on Malmak, and everything he knows about America he learned from an advertising-paid program
In the underdeveloped south, where the saying Pyrrhic victory was born, where 813 men were killed because they did not want to convert to Islam, where the ancient Romans saw war elephants for the first time and many other unrepeatable things
A 24-carat pink diamond, known as the Bulgari Pink, has sold for more than $14,6 million at an auction in Geneva
Kristaps Porzingis retires from the court due to health problems. He was previously diagnosed with POTS, a syndrome that can cause exhaustion, dizziness and a rapid heart rate
At the moment when the institutions of the Republic are destroyed, when Vučić's octopus is still alive, when people are disgusted by the injustice and the stench left behind by the Essenes regime, we have, as Machiavelli said, only civic virtue as the fuel with which we can return to the beginning
The four independent members of REM are an example of perseverance and civic responsibility. Rodoljub Šabić even, upon leaving the premises of REM, after the sentencing of the Informer, experienced that the Essenes insulted him, hit him with their hands and feet. But that too will soon be over
Vučić pardoned the batterers and Dijana Hrkalović. The election winners should abolish the sultan's power that allows one man to run afoul of the entire judicial system
Interview: Branko Stamenković, public prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office
A black picture and the breakdown of the rule of law subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
