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Ryanair’s bag policy deemed ‘abusive’ by Spanish court
Ryanair’s hand luggage fees have been ruled ‘abusive’ by a Spanish court, possibly paving the way for UK passengers to claim back their fees.
A Spanish court ruled that the airline should refund a passenger who was fined €20 for taking a 10kg carry-on bag without having paid extra for a priority ticket.
The airline’s new rules mean passengers, who do not pay extra for ‘priority’ boarding, are charged an additional fee on top of their ticket if their hand luggage is bigger than 40cm x 20cm x 25cm.
But the Commercial Court in Spain ruled that the policy contravenes both Spanish and European law and said the woman should be refunded with interest.
It said the policy was null and void and told Ryanair ‘to remove it’ from its terms and conditions.
Ryanair said the ruling will not affect its baggage policy, claiming it was an ‘isolated case’.
"This ruling will not affect Ryanair’s baggage policy, as it misquoted the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and misinterpreted the airlines’ commercial freedom to determine the size of their cabin baggage," Ryanair said in a statement to the Telegraph.~
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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