Cheap airlines
Consumer advocates take action against hand luggage fee
If you want to take larger hand luggage on cheap flights, you often have to pay. This exploits passengers, say consumer protection groups – and call for the EU Commission to do so.
On many flights, an additional fee for hand luggage from a certain size is incurred – consumer protection groups, on the other hand, have now submitted an official complaint to the EU Commission. The airlines would exploit their customers with this practice, the European Consumer Protection Dachverband BeuC said in Brussels.
The member organizations also submitted corresponding complaints to their responsible authorities. In Germany, the Bundesverband (VZBV) consumer center participates. Specifically, the EU -wide complaint is directed against seven airlines – including Ryanair, Easyjet and Wizz Air. These allow a small hand luggage piece that usually have to fit below the seat.
EU court: Appropriate hand luggage must be free
Beuc refers to a judgment of the European Court of Justice in 2014. Although this tilts a Spanish law, which should even explain task baggage an integral part of a ticket – but no additional fee should be charged for hand luggage, as long as it fulfills “appropriate specifications” to the size and weight. It has not yet been regulated in EU law where this limit is.
From the point of view of consumer advocates, the limits of the airlines mentioned are not appropriate and therefore illegal. Travelers would like to take enough clothes and personal items with them – enough things for a roller case, said BeUC General Director Agustín Reyna. “I can’t understand how it should be appropriate to put everything in a small bag for a trip for at least two to three days.”
In addition, the passengers would transport their hand luggage themselves and be liable for it. Because unlike the task baggage – the airport is loaded at the airport and for which you accept liability during flight – hand luggage does not incur any additional costs. An additional fee is therefore not justified.
Ryanair: Regulation would increase ticket prices
Ryanair clearly rejected the allegations in a first reaction. The fact that only a small bag is included in the ticket price is compatible with EU law and is covered by the court ruling. Ryanair gives customers the choice of whether they needed a larger hand luggage piece – to make this a regulation “would increase ticket prices for all passengers,” said the Irish airline.
Consumer advocates are calling for clear rules at EU level
With the complaint, BeUC wants to ensure that the EU Commission, for example, provides companies with a punishment or prescribes them to do without additional fees. In order to avoid conflicts in the future, consumer advocates demanded clear rules at EU level. In this way, it should be determined to the size of which a hand luggage piece is considered appropriate and which services a ticket must include.
A planned reform of the passenger rights regulation on which the EU countries are currently advising is the “perfect opportunity,” said Reyna. The EU Parliament commissioned the Commission as early as 2023 to determine precise rules – this referred the request to the airlines, which have not yet agreed with each other.
dpa
Source: Stern
