Some great news for air passengers, airlines, especially low-cost airlines, which used to charge passengers for their hand luggage, will have to stop ripping passengers off following a ruling by the European Parliament.
Airlines are now obliged to make these items free of charge and no longer ignore the measures.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions (PETI) resolution calls on the European Commission to list hand luggage as an “indispensable item”.
This means that airlines will no longer be able to charge for items that can be carried in the cabin and can be transported without causing a security or space problem for other passengers.
This decision comes after a disastrous month of August in Spain, with several companies fined.
According to complaints by consumer rights body Facua, Ryanair, Vueling, Easyjet and Volotea were the subject of numerous complaints for charging passengers for hand luggage.
In 2014, the EU Court of Justice ruled that hand luggage must be free of charge, but until now airlines have not complied with this requirement and are now imposing more and more requirements.
From now on, the weight and measurements for luggage will be standard for all airlines, thus putting an end to the rules of each airline regarding what they consider to be a hand luggage.
They will also have to change their practice with regard to the information given to passengers when providing data such as the price or time of the flight, with the EU asking airlines to be more transparent in this regard.