Ryanair told to refund person £124 after court rules hand luggage is essential
A Ryanair passenger has been awarded £124 after a court ruled the airline should not have charged them for carry-on luggage.
The court in Salamanca, Spain, found that carry-on luggage is an essential part of travel and the passenger should not have incurred additional charges.
They will be reimbursed for hand luggage costs charged on five flights between 2019 and 2024.
This ruling from judge Raquel Martínez Marco was based on a decision made in 2014 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'.
Spanish consumer rights organisation Facua also backed the passenger's claim.
This ruling is just one part of an ongoing battle between budget airlines and the Spanish authorities.
Facua has won five rulings in recent months over carry-on luggage, not just with Ryanair, but against low-cost airline Vueling as well.
Two Ryanair passengers were refunded in October and the airline was ordered to pay legal fees.
This case found the passengers did not anticipate additional costs of 96 euros for carry-on baggage at check-in.
They were represented by lawyer Isaac Guijarro who said it was a 'huge win for travellers everywhere.'
He used a defence on Article 97 of Spain's Air Navigation law which says 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.
Mr Guijarro argued airlines can refuse items based on weight for security reasons.
It was found during this case that the hand luggage met the right size requirements.
'It shows Ryanair can't get away with treating passengers like walking ATMs,' he said.
This all comes after a 2019 ruling in Spain that said Ryanair's policy of charging for hand luggage was 'abusive' and should no longer be applied in Spain. More Trending
But Ryanair did not change its rules and continues to charge passengers extra money for more hand luggage.
In relation to the latest case, a Ryanair spokesperson said: '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, and is fully compliant with EU law, as upheld by several recent Spanish court rulings, including in Coruña, Segovia, Ontinyent, Seville, and Madrid.'
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