EU to ban airlines from charging extra for hand luggage on flights

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have voted in favour of banning airlines from charging passengers extra for hand luggage on flights. New guidelines also give more clarity on the dimensions of carry-ons for airlines.

EU plans to scrap airline fees for hand luggage

In good news for Dutch travellers who fly less often due to carry-on regulations, the EU’s Transport and Tourism Committee has voted in favour of amending the bloc’s passenger rights regulations to include a ban on airlines charging passengers for small hand luggage.

Under the new rules, airline passengers travelling in the EU will have the right to carry a personal bag, such as a handbag or rucksack, and a small hand luggage bag on their flight free of charge.

Passengers’ personal bags can have maximum dimensions of 40x30x15 centimetres, and small hand luggage bags will be allowed maximum dimensions of 100 cm and 7 kilograms. Airlines will not be allowed to charge passengers any money for carrying these items.

“Today's vote marks an important step toward fairer and more transparent travel,” rapporteur on enforcement of passenger rights Matteo Ricci (Italy, S&D) said in a press release. Ricci added that a clear definition of free hand luggage up to a maximum size was “a fundamental right to avoid unjustified extra costs” and that increased transparency “ensure[s] a fairer and more efficient system”. 

Hand luggage fees “violate EU laws” 

The EU court previously ruled back in 2011 that airlines were not allowed to charge extra for hand baggage that meets “reasonable” size and weight limits. This non-specific regulation has led to wide variations in airline policies and a lot of confusion among passengers in the past few years.

In recent months, as reported by EuroNews, a group of consumer rights organisations in Europe filed complaints against low-cost airlines for charging hand luggage fees, stating that they “violate EU laws”. The airlines that the consumer rights groups accused in particular were EasyJet, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air. 

MEPs introduce new EU travel regulations

Scrapping airlines’ hand luggage fees isn’t the only change on the agenda. If the committee’s plan receives further approval, transport ticket vendors and retailers will be required to disclose the total booking cost earlier in the booking process. MEPs also want to ensure that airlines seat children under 12 years old next to their accompanying passenger at no extra cost.

The plans also aim to introduce a bloc-wide travel compensation form. In the event of significant travel disruption, airlines will be required to contact affected passengers with a partially completed compensation form and initiate the reimbursement process within 48 hours. The entire reimbursement process should not take longer than 14 days.

In the next stage of the legislative process, members of the Transport and Tourism Committee will discuss the new policies with EU member states before legislation is voted on in July 2025.