A Spanish court has ordered that Iriish no-frills airline, Ryanair, must refund 147 euros to a passenger for hand luggage charges on five flights between 2019 and 2024. The ruling is based on the court’s determination that hand luggage is an essential part of air travel and should not incur additional fees. This is the latest twist in the long running dispute between the Irish airline and Spain.
The case reflects ongoing legal battles in Europe regarding airlines’ charging practices for essential services. It originated through the consumer organization Facua, which has secured similar rulings against Low-Cost Carriers in recent months.
The ruling, ordered by a court in Salamanca on the mainland, follows a complaint filed by the passenger, who was represented by the Spanish consumer rights group Facua. In this case, an Irish low-cost carrier was asked to reimburse the passenger 147 euros , which she had paid across five flights between 2019 and 2024.
Judge Raquel Martínez Marco based her decision on the 2014 Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) judgment, which stated that “[hand luggage] must, in principle, be considered an indispensable element of passenger transport and that its carriage cannot, therefore, be subject to a price supplement.”
Facua has seen success in similar cases and has previously secured favourable rulings against Ryanair and other low-cost carriers like Vueling . The legal argument centres on the concept of hand luggage being “indispensable” to transportation services.
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CompoMany times.
Burgundy BlueThe reason most people only take have luggage is to avoid 1. The absurd charges for hold luggage and 2. The time taken to check luggage in and the waiting time to pick it back up. Not ‘ridiculous’ and certainly doesn’t ’exacerbate delays’ ( have you ever been on a flight when a delay has been blamed on hand luggage? If they could, the airlines surely would!)
Stan The ManRyanair are ‘concerned’ about one thing and one thing only: how they can make more money from each passenger. Maybe thats fair enough as they are a business after all, but they don’t have to treat their customers like sh1t!
The amount of “hand luggage” people take on board now is ridiculous. Who needs instant access to items that are never going to be needed during a two-hour flight? It is simply an attempt to not pay for checked-in baggage. Even mothers with infants only require maybe 5Kg, and those who claim they need their medication with them, how much does your bottle of pills actually weigh? Moreover, it is probably the main reason why boarding and disembarking takes so long, which further adds to the turn-around time, and exacerbates delay. I would happily agree with a 5Kg limit and - because of this ruling - that is likely to be the outcome.
Emotional baggage next.
Lets hope they don't start charging by passenger weight plus their luggage like Samoa Air.
I am unable to read this Article. The last time I flew with Ryanair, I had no hand luggage. The freedom of passage was a pleasure. Because passengers are bringing heavy hand luggage, Ryanair are concerned as to increased total weight of the Aircraft This can affect its Flight, and the amount of fuel used. Perhaps No Handluggage for all passengers will be the eventual answer.Except females hand bags!!!