Spanish court rules charging for cabin baggage breaks EU law
That is my take on the case reported on Wednesday as below.
Ryanair were ordered to return 20,00€ plus interest to a passenger charged for bringing a bag into the cabin without buying a "Priority" ticket
The judge refused however to award her exemplary damages
S/he ordered that the appropriate clause on which Ryanair based its charges be struck from their T&Cs
S/he based the decision on 2 laws; the Spanish [Air] Transport Law (dated 1960) which says in #97, about items which are NOT to be counted as hold-luggage subject to extra payment above the ticket price:
"No se considerará equipaje a este efecto los objetos y bultos de mano que el viajero lleve consigo. El transportista estará obligado a transportar de forma gratuita en cabina, como equipaje de mano, los objetos y bultos que el viajero lleve consigo, incluidos los artículos adquiridos en las tiendas situadas en los aeropuertos. Únicamente podrá denegarse el embarque de estos objetos y bultos en atención a razones de seguridad, vinculadas al peso o al tamaño del objeto, en relación con las características de la aeronave."
...which asserts positively that hand baggage must be carried free.
This is a Spanish law and as such "only" affects flights to/ from Spain.
Pretty significant on that basis alone, I would say.
However the judge goes on to say that s/he rejects Ryanair's claim that EU law, specifically 1008/2008 which apparently underpins EU regulation of air transport justifies these charges.
The ruling is final and not subject to appeal (in Spain)
Given the implications, "Europe" will inevitably be called in to give a final resolution, I would assert..
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As a neewbie, I cannot post a link.
Google:
La Vanguardia Ryanair Madrid Equipaje maleta mano