EU to ban airlines from charging extra for hand luggage

2025-06-25 17:17:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Airlines will not be allowed to charge passengers additional fees for carrying hand luggage on board.

European Union lawmakers have voted to approve a proposal that would allow airline passengers to bring one personal item into the cabin and one piece of hand luggage weighing up to seven kilograms free of charge.

“Today’s vote marks an important step towards fairer and more transparent travel,” Matteo Ricci, vice-chair of the EU Committee on Transport and Tourism and the main sponsor of the bill, said in a press release.

He added that clearly defined rules for free hand luggage were "a fundamental right to avoid unjustified additional costs", ensuring a "fairer and more efficient system".

The move comes in addition to broader reforms to passenger rights proposed by the European Commission in 2023. This would require airlines to disclose the total cost of a flight earlier in the booking process and would affect compensation rights.

Here's how the decision will affect airline passengers and when the changes could take effect.

Airline passengers should be entitled to free hand luggage

Under the new rules, passengers travelling by plane in the EU will be entitled to carry on board one personal item, such as a handbag or backpack, and one small piece of hand luggage at no extra charge.

Personal bags can have maximum dimensions of 40x30x15 centimeters, and hand luggage will be allowed with maximum dimensions of 100 cm and weight of 7 kg.

Airlines will not be allowed to charge passengers additional fees for transporting these items.

This follows a ruling from more than a decade ago by the European Court of Justice, which ruled that the transport of hand luggage cannot be subject to a surcharge, provided that it meets reasonable requirements in terms of weight and dimensions and complies with relevant security requirements.

Recently, a group of consumer organizations asked national consumer watchdogs and the European Commission to conduct an investigation into what they claim are unfair hand luggage fees imposed by low-budget airlines.

Low-cost carriers are charging extra fees for luggage that they say is "excessive" but should be within size and weight limits deemed "reasonable" by the EU, consumer groups say.

Will the new hand luggage rules make plane tickets more expensive?

While the vote appears to be a victory for air passengers, a spokesman for industry association Airlines for Europe (A4E) warned that it could mean paying higher airfares overall, especially for those who want to travel with less luggage. /CNA