RYANAIR has been ordered to refund a passenger £124, after a court has ruled hand luggage as an essential and should not incur extra fees.
A Spanish court has ruled that hand luggage is an essential part of air travel and ordered to refund a passenger after they charged them £124 for their hand luggage, across five flights.
The air traveller will be reimbursed for fees they were made to pay to carry hand luggage, on flights between 2019 and 2024.
The judge expressed that her decision followed a 2014 ruling by a top EU court that stated 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”;;, reports Mail Online.
The passenger’s claim was also backed by Spanish consumer rights organisations Facua.
This is the latest in a stream of cases between Spanish lawmakers and
In October, was also fined and forced to pay the legal fees for two customers who had not foreseen the cost when they bought their tickets.
The passengers, who had paid for four flights with the airline, complained that at check-in the airline charged them an additional €96 (£80.94) for
According to the Mail, Spanish lawyer Isaac Guijarro, who represented the passengers, said the ruling was a “huge win for travellers everywhere”;;.
The lawyer used Article 97 of ‘s Air Navigation law for his defence.
The article states that airlines are “obliged to transport not only the passenger, but also, and without charging anything for it, the objects and hand luggage that they carry”;; with them.
Isaac said: “They can only deny boarding of these items for security reasons, linked to the weight or size of the object, but in this case they were typical that did not exceed 55x35x25cm.”;;
He also explained that the airline had ignored previous complaints and requests, leaving his clients with no choice but to go to court.
The court then ruled that Ryanair had shown “recklessness”;; in forcing the passengers to go to court and that the airline had to also pay the travellers‘ legal fees.
The position of airlines and Spain‘s Airline Association (ALA) is that charging for hand luggage is legal because it is enshrined in EU law.
The law states: “Community air carriers and, on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, third country air carriers shall freely determine fares and rates for intra-Community air services.”;;
According to Ryanair’s website, the airline’s carry on bag policy is that passengers are entitled to a “which must fit under the seat in front of you”;; and “can be a handbag, laptop back or backpack”;;.
The measurement restrictions are 40cm by 20cm by 25cm.
The website also states that will cost £13 per extra kilo, at the airport, call centre or kiosk – whilst charges £12 per extra kilo and charges £10.96 per extra kilo.
The Sun has contacted Ryanair for comment.
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