Easyjet and Ryanair face huge fines over hand luggage fees 'affecting millions'
Easyjet and Ryanair face huge fines over hand luggage fees 'affecting millions'
Airlines have hit back against accusations of "exploiting" customers and "ignoring" EU law over cabin bag policies
Easyjet and Ryanair face scrutiny for baggage policies
(Image: Getty Images )
Easyjet and Ryanair are among seven airlines facing new fines over hand baggage charges.
The two companies have however hit back against accusations of 'exploiting' customers and 'ignoring' EU law over cabin bag policies. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and its 16 member organisations from 12 countries have filed an official complaint to the European Commission, which could land the seven airlines involved hefty charges.
BEUC are calling for an 'EU-wide investigation' into the practices of charging extra fees for hand luggage. It follows a €179million fine thrown at five airlines by the Spanish Organisation of Consumer and Users (OCU) last year for 'abusive' hand baggage practices.
This time, as well as Easyjet and Ryanair, Norwegian Airlines, French company Transavia, Hungarian airline Wizzair, and Spanish firms Volotea and Vueling are in hot water over their policies.
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.
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'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.'
What does BEUC accuse the airlines of doing wrong?
Ryanair and EasyJet have been accused of varying the fees they charge for hand luggage depending on the route and date
(Image: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images )
BEUC have provided examples of what they believe are unfair practices. For EasyJet, they note how the airline 'imposes fees varying on the route selected, flight and time of booking'.
These fees begin at £5.99 and a fee applied directly at the airport, called an 'airport bag fee' is £48. BEUC also say that Ryanair fees for baggage vary depending on the route and travel dates.
These can range from £6 to £36 when booking, or £20 to £60 when booking at the airport. Millions of passengers who flew with the airlines in 2024 could be affected, BEUC claims.
What have the airlines said?
EasyJet have hit back against the filing
(Image: Getty Images )
A Ryanair spokesperson says the airline 'welcomes the filing of this complaint', claiming it will 'confirm' its bags policy 'fully complies with EU law'. The spokesperson added: 'Ryanair allows each passenger to carry a generous (40 x 25 x 20 cm) personal bag on board free as part of its basic air fare, with the option to add extra bags for an optional fee should they so wish. This policy promotes both low fares and consumer choice.
'If airlines were forced to include additional carry-on bags as part of the basic fare, it would reduce choice and drive-up air fares for all passengers, which would harm consumers.' Ryanair also criticised BEUC over its dealing with online travel agencies (OTAs), adding: 'If BEUC is genuinely concerned about consumers being 'exploited', then why does it continue to ignore the rampant consumer harm being caused by overcharging OTAs, who continue to induce unsuspecting consumers into paying unjustified hidden mark-ups for flights and ancillary products that cost much less when booked directly on airlines' websites?
'Outlawing these harmful OTA overcharges and enforcing transparency in OTA pricing would be a much better use of BEUC and its members' resources.'
A Norwegian Air spokesperson said: 'Norwegian is committed to offering safe and affordable travel, and our baggage policy reflects this. We believe we are in compliance with EU regulations and the policy is transparent and essential for managing weight and limited space on board, ensuring passenger safety, and also maintaining punctuality.
'Our customers have shown that they appreciate not having to pay for extra baggage when they don't need it. Customers travelling with Norwegian can bring a bag from the duty-free shop in addition to their hand luggage on board the aircraft.'
Wizz Air are among those facing fines
Airlines 4 Europe, a collective group representing a number of European airlines including EasyJet, Norwegian, Ryanair and Volotea, released a collective response to the filing. A spokesperson said: 'All airlines let travellers bring one personal item as part of their fare, in line with the Vueling Ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU).
'A 2024 Eurobarometer survey shows that 90% of passengers are well informed of the size and weight limits of the luggage included in their ticket. The action taken today by consumer organisations would decrease consumer choice and oblige all passengers to pay for additional services that they may not all need.
'The CJEU expressly acknowledges the value of unbundling services and how this allows passengers to choose the exact services that best suits their needs. The decision of the Spanish Consumer Protection Agency on cabin bags is currently under appeal and the European Commission is looking into whether it complies with EU law.
'Making cabin bags mandatory would force up to 50 million passengers in Spain alone to pay for something they do not want.'
Furthermore, the Spanish Airline Association (ALA), which represents Vueling among others, claims charging for baggage in the cabin is "perfectly legal". A spokesperson added: "This practice allows passengers to pay only for the services they need, giving consumers the ability to choose based on their travel needs.
"In fact, this was the option chosen by just over 50 million passengers in 2024, who traveled without a trolley. If this practice were banned, these 50 million passengers would have to pay for a service they don't require , increasing their travel costs.
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"It should be noted that airlines are currently already working with European authorities on standardising the dimensions of luggage. It should be noted that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs' ruling, which fines some airlines €179 million for charging for cabin baggage and seeks to impose an end to this practice, is being appealed by the affected airlines.
"Therefore, there is no final decision on the matter until the courts issue a ruling." WizzAir declined to comment.
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Asked 'how do you know there will be fewer people coming here than leaving?' Mr Reynolds said: 'Well, I've got 13 schemes in action already and that's the evidence of them.' He later added: 'I tell you the evidence of the current schemes just so you know is that they're a net negative on immigration.' Around 24,400 youth mobility visas were issued to people wanting to come to the UK in 2024. Although figures are patchy for how many Britons go abroad, data from just three countries – Australia, New Zealand and Canada – suggests that 68,495 British citizens travelled to those countries in 2024 (the Australian data is for the 12 months to the end of June 2024). That would suggest that Mr Reynolds is right. However it does not take into account that Britons going abroad on these temporary visas will sooner or later come back, as will those who come to the UK. It is also not clear that this pattern will repeat in any similar deal with the EU. 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The data shows that in 2024 there were 9,972 work permits issued to UK and UK overseas territories citizens under the country's working holiday scheme, and a further 64 people had their permits extended. How do incoming youth mobility visas compare to outgoing? Net migration is a figure which subtracts the number of people coming into the country from the number of people leaving. The data cited above suggests that while 9,754 Australians came to the UK on youth mobility visas, 48,973 Britons went in the opposite direction. It must be noted that the time periods measured here are different, the Australian data is for the 12 months ending June 2024, while the UK data is for the 12 months ending December 2024. Meanwhile the data suggests that 4,304 New Zealanders came to the UK while 9,486 Britons went in the other direction. Data further shows that 3,060 Canadians came to the UK in 2024, while 9,972 Britons went in the other direction. This suggests that for each of these three countries the youth mobility schemes are – as Mr Reynolds suggested – reducing net migration. In fact Australia alone appears to receive twice as many Britons (48,973) as all people who the UK receives from all 13 countries added together (24,437). However, it should be noted that because youth mobility schemes are time-limited, Britons going abroad and people who have come to the UK on such visas will eventually be forced to return. This means the UK's inbound migration figures should take into account not just Australians and Canadians – for example – coming to the UK, but also Britons returning from Australia and Canada after their youth mobility visas expire. If it is assumed that everyone returns then over a longer time frame the youth mobility programmes will have a neutral impact on net immigration because every Briton who leaves the UK will come back and every non-Briton who comes to the UK will leave. This does not take into account the people – both Britons abroad and non-Britons in the UK – who apply for a different visa to stay in their adopted country. Do these conclusions also apply to the EU scheme? The impact on net migration of the potential EU scheme will depend on the details of the agreement between London and Brussels. Madeleine Sumption, director at the Migration Observatory, told the PA news agency that the size of the cap on the programme would be vital for the impact on net migration. She said the fact the UK sends more people to Australia, Canada and New Zealand than it receives from them 'probably results from the fact that the UK has a much larger population than they do, so we just have more young people potentially interested in moving'. With the EU scheme, Ms Sumption said, the population sizes are flipped – that is to say the EU's population is much bigger than the UK, leaving more young people who might be willing to come here. Therefore the smaller the cap on the number of visas is, the more likely both the EU and UK will fill their quotas. If both fill their quotas – and the quotas going both ways are the same – then the impact on net migration will be zero. However if the cap is large then it is more likely that there will not be as many Britons going to Europe as are coming in the opposite direction, which will bring up net migration. But, as with the existing schemes, both Britons in Europe and Europeans in the UK will eventually have to leave unless they find another visa, which over the long run should mean that the programme has a neutral impact on net migration. BBC – Today, 19/05/2025 Migration Observatory – What is the Youth Mobility Scheme and how does it work? (archived) – Entry clearance visas granted outside the UK (archived page and spreadsheet, using tab Data_Vis_D02) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Visitor visa statistics (archived) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Working Holiday Maker visa program report (archived) New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – Migration data explorer (archived page and downloaded spreadsheet. To download the correct spreadsheet, instructions can be found at (archived): In dataset select 'W1 work decisions', in time period select 'calendar year' and in variables select 'application substream', 'application criteria' and 'decision type') Canadian data provided to PA news agency (archived) Madeleine Sumption profile (archived)
