EU consumer groups denounce seven airlines charging hand baggage

Today, BEUC and 16 member organisations from 12 countries [1] filed a complaint to the European Commission and the Consumer Protection authorities’ network (CPC) denouncing seven airlines [2] charging undue fees to consumers for their hand baggage. We are calling for an EU-wide investigation into the commercial practices of the targeted airlines and the wider sector.

Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, commented:

“Haven’t we all experienced the fear of our hand baggage not fitting in the airline’s sizers and being charged extra fees? Today we are taking action against seven airlines who are exploiting consumers and are ignoring the EU top court who ruled that charging reasonably sized hand baggage is illegal. This was confirmed by recent fines in Spain which made clear that passengers can bring their reasonably sized hand baggage onboard at no additional cost.

“In addition to our European action, the ongoing revision of the Air Passenger Rights regulation is the perfect opportunity for the EU to clarify what services should be included in the basic ticket price. Our data shows that consumers expect to see a small item and a piece of hand luggage when buying basic tickets. Policymakers should also define hand luggage’s ‘reasonable size and weight’ to avoid surprises at the airport and ultimately reduce the number of disputes costing consumers and airlines time and money.”

Background

The EU Court of Justice ruled in 2014 that “carriage of hand baggage cannot be made subject to a price supplement, provided that it meets reasonable requirements in terms of its weight and dimensions and complies with applicable security requirements”.

Our Spanish member OCU (Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios) launched a formal complaint to the Spanish Ministry of Social Rights and Consumption who ultimately fined five airlines €179 million for abusive hand baggage practices in late 2024.

Our Belgian member Testachats/Testaankoop also filed a complaint to the Belgian authorities in May 2024 and our Portuguese member DECO did the same in Portugal Testachats/Testaankoop launched a court action against Ryanair for their unlawful hand baggage policy. These national procedures highlight the need to launch an EU-wide action.

Harmonising rules on hand baggage will allow better transparency and price comparability for passengers and ensure legal certainty. It will also have a positive impact for airports.

A survey from our Dutch member Consumentenbond confirms that 86% of consumers think that a small item and a small trolley or a backpack should be included in the basic ticket price. 

Documentation:

• Main findings and conclusions (report)

• Targeted airlines and identified practices (examples)

• BEUC's Position paper on the revision of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation

[1] Association for Consumer Rights (ACR) Malta (Malta), ASUFIN (Spain), CECU (Spain), CLCV (France), Consumentenbond (the Netherlands), Cyprus Consumer Association (Cyprus), DECO (Portugal), dTest (Czech Republic), EKPIZO (Greece), Federacja Konsumentów (Poland), KEPKA (Greece), Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) – (Norway), OCU (Spain), UFC Que Choisir (France), Test Achats / Test Aankoop (Belgium), Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband – vzbv (Germany).    

[2] In alphabetical order: Easyjet (UK/Austria), Norwegian Airlines (Norway), Ryanair (Ireland), Transavia (France), Volotea (Spain), Vueling (Spain) and Wizzair (Hungary).