Smaller hand luggage and stingier compensation: The EU continues to dictate how we travel

Telegraph

a day ago

New EU regulations could water down British holidaymakers' rights to compensation in the event of a flight delay, while forcing us to take smaller bags into the cabin.
On Thursday June 5, EU Transport Ministers met to discuss changes to air passenger laws. They proposed to extend the minimum delay after which flyers may be entitled to compensation from three hours to four, while reducing the maximum amount that passengers can receive.
Ministers also suggested a new standardised bag allowance for free underseat luggage which is smaller than those currently imposed by easyJet and Wizz.
Despite Brexit, these rule changes could have implications for British holidaymakers travelling to the Continent. Let's take a look at the new regulations on the table, and the chances that they will affect your holidays.
It'll be harder to receive compensation
What's happening?
As it stands, holidaymakers delayed by more than three hours are eligible for compensation, on top of their refund, so long as the airline is at fault for the delay. This is thanks to a regulation called EU261, passed in 2004, which the UK decided to adopt into law after leaving the European Union.
Compensation rates start from €250/£220, rising to €600/£520 depending on the length of the flight.
However, this threshold could soon be raised to four hours. Under the latest proposals, the lower end of the compensation bracket will go up to €300 and the higher end will come down to €500.
Ministers are also expected to update the list of 'extraordinary circumstances', which allow airlines to avoid paying compensation, as part of revisions to 31 different air passenger rights.
Will this affect you?
British passengers travelling with any airline from an EU country back to the UK will be affected by the proposed rule change. So if you are flying with British Airways from Paris to Heathrow, you will need to wait four hours, not three, to be eligible for compensation.
If the proposed change passes through EU Parliament, passengers flying from Britain to the Continent would still qualify for compensation when their flight delay hits the three-hour mark.
However, it is ultimately on the UK Government to decide whether or not to adopt the amendments for outbound flights, or to stick with the original rules. Consumer groups are lobbying the Government to take no action, thereby retaining the more generous compensation rules, but British airlines will likely argue that stepping out of line with the EU will put them at a disadvantage against international rivals.
Ryanair has previously estimated that EU261 costs each passenger £7 per flight, and some airlines groups have lobbied for an even longer compensation threshold of five hours, to dissuade cancellations and allow airlines a chance to reroute flights to fulfil scheduled routes.
Free hand luggage limits are changing
What's happening?
In early June, EU transport ministers proposed standardising the size of free underseat baggage across all EU airlines. This could become EU law if accepted by the European Parliament.
The ministers proposed that this new size would be 40 x 30 x 15cm, including wheels and handles. Airlines currently have varying size allowances for the free underseat bag, which are:
easyJet: 45 x 36 x 20cm
Ryanair: 40 x 20 x 25cm
Wizz: 40 x 30 x 20cm
British Airways: 56 x 45 x 25cm plus handbag/laptop bag
Jet2: 56 x 45 x 25cm plus handbag/laptop bag
Notably, the suggested 15cm dimension would represent a reduction in depth by 20 to 25 per cent on what are already fairly stringent allowances.
There have been no suggestions of standardising the size of overhead locker bag allowance. However, over the last year a number of Spanish courts have ordered low-cost airlines to reimburse passengers for hand luggage charges.
Lawyers from Blake Morgan told The Telegraph: 'This will have consequences for all airlines flying to and from Spain and possibly other EU destinations as well.'
Will this affect you?
The new bag size rules would apply to all airlines with bases in the EU (including Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz) and would cover all routes including to non-EU countries like the UK.
Some consumer groups have voiced their support for the move. Jane Hawkes, a consumer travel expert, says that hand luggage sizes should be universal.
'I don't really see why it can't be, and why they can't come to a voluntary agreement as to what those requirements should be for your baggage,' she told the BBC.
'There have to be restrictions, obviously, but a one-size-fits-all kind of approach would make it a lot simpler for passengers.'