Ryanair must refund £124 to passenger over hand luggage charge, court rules
The court ruled that the passenger's carry on bag was 'essential' for air travel in what's being seen as a 'huge precedent'
A Spanish court has ordered Ryanair to refund a passenger £124 after she was charged five times for taking basic hand luggage on flights between 2019 and 2024. The hearing in Madrid heard that the airline's extra charges for standard carry-on bags were in violation of Spain's consumer protection laws.
And the award against the budget airline could set a precedent for thousands of customers who have been hit with the same fees. Consumer groups are already urging others who have fallen foul of Ryanair's policy to make moves to claim their money back.
The Irish airline is known to have some of the strictest baggage rules and it's not the first time they've seen a courtroom battle over hand luggage charges. Euro Weekly reports that in 2019 the same court branded the airline's hand luggage charges 'abusive."
At that time, they ordered a €20 refund after a passenger was told to pay to bring her carry-on.
The judge also determined that Ryanair's hand luggage fees should no longer be levied in the country.
Despite that, the carrier has refused to change its rules and continues to rake in money from those who don't adhere to their policies on it.
And in October, the airline was fined and ordered to repay legal fees for two customers who argued they had been unfairly charged for theirs.
The passengers, who had paid for four flights with the carrier, complained that at check-in the airline charged them an additional €96 for 'carry-on baggage.'
Their lawyer argued Ryanair was in breach of Article 97 of Spain's Air Navigation law.
It states that 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'.
Their lawyer Isaac Guijarro said after the ruling: "It shows Ryanair can't get away with treating passengers like walking ATMs."
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In response Ryanair backed its hand luggage policy.
A spokesperson for the airline said: 'Ryanair allows each passenger to carry a generous (40 x 25 x 20 cm) personal bag on board as part of the 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.'
Spain's Ministry of Consumer Affairs fined Ryanair a record €108million in 2024 as part of a broader €179million action against five low-cost airlines.
The fines were in response to a list of questionable charges, from paying for a seat next to your child to being charged just to print a boarding pass. Topping the list though was hand luggage fees.
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