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STV News
a day ago
- Business
- STV News
Ryanair to boost free cabin baggage size ahead of the summer holidays
Europe's biggest low-cost airline, Ryanair, has said it will increase its free cabin luggage allowance, set to be carried out in the coming weeks. The budget air carrier currently allows a 'personal bag' measuring 40 x 20 x 25cm, equating to a volume of 20 litres at no extra cost. The new volume will increase to 24 litres while dimensions will change to 40 x 30 x 20cm, allowing holidaymakers to pack a little more. Two Ryanair flights taxied on the runway following announcements it will increase its cabin baggage size. / Credit: The change comes in response to an agreement made by European airlines to standardise the dimensions across various air carriers. Ryanair's allowance increase is larger than the newly announced European minimum luggage size of 40 x 30 x 15cm. Ryanair confirmed it would be making those changes over the 'coming weeks' ahead of the summer holidays. A spokesperson for the airline said: 'Ryanair's current free 'personal bag' size is 40 x 25 x 20cm. Following the new EU minimum bag size of 40 x 30 x 15cm, Ryanair will increase its max 'personal bag' dimensions to 40 x 30 x 20cm, so that Ryanair's 'personal bag' allowance is bigger than the EU standard. 'This change will be implemented over the coming weeks, as our airport bag sizers are adjusted.' The trade body Airlines for Europe (A4E) has been in talks with Adina Valean, the EU transport commissioner in Brussels, about simplifying air travel for passengers. It said all A4E airlines 'will roll out the guaranteed dimensions and have them in place by the end of the 2025 summer season'. Ryanair announced it will increase the size of cabin luggage which will be rolled out ahead of the summer holidays. / Credit: PA A4E airlines include Ryanair, easyJet, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group. Ourania Georgoutsakou, managing director of A4E, said: 'This will align A4E members with the decision of member states made last month and bring more clarity to passengers across Europe. 'From city-hoppers to family travellers, everyone will benefit from the same clear rule across our members' networks.' British Airways, Jet2 and easyJet all exceed the baggage allowance announced by the A4E. A spokesperson at easyJet confirmed to ITV News that its current luggage allowance will remain unchanged. It appears Ryanair is the only major airline to make changes to their current allowance. The change comes after MEPs voted last month for all airlines to allow passengers to carry both a personal item and one small hand luggage on board for free, which Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air strongly opposed because of impracticality. The European Parliament said: 'Passengers should have a right to carry on board one personal item, such as a handbag, backpack or laptop (maximum dimensions of 40x30x15 cm), and one small hand luggage (maximum dimensions of 100 cm and 7 kg) without an additional fee.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Ryanair to boost size of free cabin bag by 20% as European airlines adopt minimum dimensions
Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost airline, will increase its free cabin baggage allowance 'over the coming weeks'. Ryanair's current free 'personal bag' size is 40 x 25 x 20cm – a volume of 20 litres. Following an agreement among European airlines to adopt a new minimum size for cabin luggage, the carrier has decided to increase one dimension of the bag size from 25 to 30cm. The dimensions will soon be 40 x 30 x 20cm – a volume of 24 litres. This is bigger than the newly announced European minimum bag size of 40 x 30 x 15cm. Had Ryanair aligned with this, it would have meant a cut of 10 per cent in volume. But instead the airline will offer travellers a larger limit. The decision means that anyone with a 'Ryanair-compatible' cabin bag will still be able to use it. A spokesperson for Ryanair said: 'This change will be implemented over the coming weeks, as our airport bag sizers are adjusted.' The trade body Airlines for Europe (A4E) has been in discussion with the EU transport commissioner in Brussels, Adina Valean, about simplifying life for passengers. Any traveller who buys a bag no bigger than 40 x 30 x 15cm will be guaranteed to be able to take it on board. Ourania Georgoutsakou, the organisation's managing director, said: 'This will align A4E members with the decision of member states made last month and bring more clarity to passengers across Europe. 'From city-hoppers to family travellers, everyone will benefit from the same clear rule across our members' networks.' Almost all the carriers will continue as before. British Airways, Jet2 and easyJet all have allowances that currently exceed the new 'standardised' dimensions. A spokesperson for easyJet confirmed the dimensions will remain the same, at 45 x 36 x 20cm – giving a maximum volume of 32 litres. . Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air strongly oppose the move and say it would be unworkable. The airlines believe that reaching an agreement on a minimum size of bag will increase the chance that they will be able to persuade officials not to impose a two-bag limit. Ryanair earlier said it carried 19.9 million passengers in June, up 3 per cent on a year earlier.
