Ryanair ordered by court to refund passenger €147 for hand luggage charges
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Ryanair has been ordered by a Spanish court to refund a passenger €147 for hand luggage charges on five flights between 2019 and 2024.
The Salamanca court ruled that hand luggage is an essential part of air travel and should not incur additional fees. The passenger was represented by Spanish consumer rights group Facua.
The judge based her decision on a 2014 ruling by a top EU court which stated that 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."
The case is the latest development in an ongoing string of disputes between Spanish authorities and budget airlines. In October, two other passengers were claimed a victory against the airline after they were charged an extra €96 for carry-on baggage at check-in.
Spanish lawyer Isaac Guijarro, who represented passengers in court, called the ruling was a "huge win for travellers everywhere."
"It shows Ryanair can't get away with treating passengers like walking ATMs."
The lawyer referenced Article 97 of Spain's Air Navigation law in the claim, 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."
"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 cabin suitcases' that did not exceed 55x35x25cm". he said.
A spokesperson for Ryanair told Dublin Live: "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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