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The European Parliament has decided that, in the future, no extra fees may be charged for hand luggage.
In a maze of hand luggage regulations, it is no longer so easy to keep track of everything. Many low-cost airlines, in particular, charge exorbitant prices for small carry-on bags. While some allow passengers to take a trolley bag and a handbag into the cabin for the booked category, others only allow one personal item. In a sea of different fares, it is essential to familiarize yourself with the regulations before each departure so that there are no unpleasant surprises at the gate.
But the confusion could soon be over. On Tuesday, June 24, the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism voted in a closed session on whether to abolish the surcharge for carrying hand luggage.
A majority voted in favor of passengers having the right to take two small pieces of luggage on board at no extra charge in the future. More specifically, one small personal item such as a handbag, backpack, or laptop (maximum dimensions of 40 x 30 x 15 cm) and another small piece of hand luggage such as a suitcase weighing no more than 7 kg with a maximum height of 46 cm, the total external dimensions of which must not exceed 100 cm.
The MEPs also want to ensure that children under the age of twelve can sit next to their accompanying person at no extra cost. However, it will take some time before the whole thing is officially implemented. If the plenary session gives the green light in July 2025, discussions will then be held with the EU member states on what the final implementation of the legislation might look like.
The extra costs for hand luggage could therefore soon be a thing of the past. The European Parliament has faced considerable opposition in this regard. The airlines do not approve of the amendment. Airlines for Europe (A4E), an airline association that includes Ryanair, Lufthansa, EasyJet, and Air France-KLM, issued a statement saying: “The proposal restricts consumer choice and imposes mandatory hand luggage on all passengers.”
In its statement, the association points out that data has shown that hundreds of millions of European passengers want to travel with light luggage. “In one of Europe’s largest air travel markets, Spain, more than 50 million people (more than the population of Spain itself) did not need an additional piece of hand luggage last year and had the option of not including it in the ticket price.”
In recent years, airline passengers have come up with increasingly creative ideas to avoid airline hand luggage fees. For example, various TikTok videos show jackets with countless pockets that can hold almost an entire suitcase’s worth of contents. However, in the comments below the post by @wear.to.fly, someone expresses concern: “I bet airport security will be interesting.”
Others stuff their luggage into pillowcases and smuggle it onto the plane. In most clips, the plan works and the pillows make it through security. But someone asks in the comments section: “Does this still work?” Most of @emmyathome’s followers think this trick is “brilliant.” It remains to be seen whether these hacks will soon be obsolete.
- source:heute.at/picture:
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