Latest news with #NeueOsnabrückerZeitung
Al Etihad
02-08-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
German consumer group sues budget airlines over hand luggage fees
2 Aug 2025 11:09 BERLIN (dpa)A German consumer group has launched legal action against several budget airlines over what it describes as unlawful charges for hand luggage."Ryanair, EasyJet and others lure customers with low fares that don't include standard hand luggage. That's deceptive and violates existing law," Ramona Pop, chairwoman of the vzbv consumer umbrella body, told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper in remarks published on said airlines are obliged to carry reasonable hand luggage at no additional cost, but in many cases, only a small personal item is included in the base fare, with larger bags requiring a paid upgrade.'The size limits used by many carriers contradict EU law,' she a first step, vzbv issued formal warnings to several carriers. Pop said lawsuits have now been filed against Ryanair, EasyJet, WizzAir, and Vueling Airlines.'In our view, they are charging inadmissible fees and thus misleading consumers about flight prices,' Pop called on the European Union to set clear rules and standards for free hand luggage. The vzbv's legal action is part of a broader Europe-wide campaign, she to the consumer group, its legal argument draws on a 2014 ruling by the European Court of Justice. The ruling determined that hand luggage is a fundamental part of air travel, not an optional extra provided by the airline. Consumer advocates argue that airlines should not be allowed to charge extra for it, provided the bag meets reasonable size and weight limits and complies with safety regulations.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German anti-Semitism official: Trump's Gaza plan needs 'closer look'
Germany's anti-Semitism commissioner on Tuesday said US President Donald Trump's heavily criticized plan to rebuild Gaza and resettle Palestinians deserves a "closer look." "I don't think it's wrong to think radically and in a completely new way," Felix Klein told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper. The commissioner argued that Trump does not want to drive out Palestinians, but only to resettle them while Gaza is rebuilt. "After all, you don't sleep in your house while you're renovating it, and the massive destruction basically calls for the comprehensive construction of a completely new infrastructure," said Klein. His comments were immediately disowned by Germany's Interior Ministry, which Klein's office is a part of. Klein "did not speak for the federal government, but expressed his personal opinion," a spokesman for the ministry told dpa. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock both rejected Trump's controversial plan to take control of Gaza and turn the coastal territory into a "Riviera of the Middle East" while "resettling" the approximately 2 million Palestinians to Arab countries. Scholz labelled the proposal a "scandal" contrary to international law, while Baerbock said that "Gaza, just as the West Bank and East Jerusalem, belongs to the Palestinians." Klein said on Tuesday that Israel has not succeeded in solving the problem militarily, even with its massive deployment during the recent 15-month conflict. "In this respect, I also consider the idea of an international administration for the area to be a sensible proposal that can be discussed," said Klein. The future of Gaza is currently the focus of intense negotiations, with the first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas having concluded last weekend without a clear path forward.
