Ryanair 'will not change its baggage policy' despite Madrid court ruling

Until two years ago, Ryanair allowed passengers to take two hand-luggage items – a small suitcase of 40 x 20 x 55 centimetres, and a bag of 35 x 20 x 20 centimetres, provided the latter would fit under the seat in front.

On busy flights or for those boarding last, the larger case sometimes had to be placed in the hold at the departure gate free of charge.

Doing this became obligatory from January 2018 for anyone who did not pay the additional fee for priority boarding, but most customers were unfazed by this – given that they could see their cases being loaded as they boarded the aircraft, they knew these were safe and would not become lost, and many customers offered their bags at the boarding gate or even requested they went into the hold, so they did not have to carry them.

A year ago, this changed: anyone not paying for priority boarding would have to check their larger bag in at the main desk for a fee, albeit a smaller fee than the typical €30 to €50 for a full-sized suitcase, which would often literally double the cost of the flight.

These changes have been largely criticised – although championed by others, who say this allows them to take large liquid stashes and sharp items without having to pay up to €50 for a suitcase – and latest figures show that Ryanair has found the new system to be a useful profit-generating exercise.

In the first half of this year, the company's profits rose by 28% thanks to priority boarding and checked-in small-case fees.

Ryanair still obliges anyone who turns up at the gate with a bag which is too large, or with more than one bag when they have not booked priority boarding, to pay a fee in cash to place it in the hold.

And magistrate Bárbara María Córdoba says the carrier went too far on this occasion.

A woman flying from Madrid to Brussels with a non-priority ticket was stopped at the gate, as she was carrying a 35 x 20 x 20-centimetre bag, and also a small handbag.

They ordered her to pay €20 in cash to check the larger of the two into the hold when it was shown she was unable to squash her handbag inside it.

Sra Córdoba of Madrid Mercantile Court number 13 said this charge was 'abusive', since the handbag could easily have fitted, along with the small hand-luggage bag, under the seat in front.

She says a 'small personal handbag', carried by 'most women' wherever they go, 'cannot be considered a piece of luggage' in the same way as 'a suitcase or rucksack containing clothing and similar items'.

In finding the verdict in favour of the passenger, the magistrate cited the national Law of Air Navigation, which requires airlines to transport hand luggage at no extra cost.

Ryanair cited the European regulation CE1008/2008, which states that airlines are permitted to charge whatever they choose for their services.

Sra Córdoba says this regulation does not cover charging for a piece of hand luggage, and cited a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling of 2014 which defined the difference between checked-in and non-checked in luggage.

This ruling considers that checked-in luggage is not an 'indispensable service', and also that suitcases travelling in the hold create a cost for the airline – that of baggage-handling and ground staff, who also have to bear the responsibility for the safe delivery of the suitcase to its correct destination.

Non-checked in luggage is, however, 'indispensable', since it is very unlikely that anyone can travel by air empty-handed, meaning the airline is obliged to transport it without demanding any extra fee or booking action on the passenger's part.

Additionally, hand luggage does not involve any costs or responsibility on the airline's part, since it is permanently in the custody of the passenger.

The magistrate said the 'curtailing of the passenger's rights' in this respect supposed a 'serious imbalance' between parties to the contract.

She hinted that the rule banning a small personal handbag in addition to main hand luggage was discrimination against women, since these are far more likely to be carried by females.

Ryanair was ordered to refund the passenger her €20, and also pay her €10 in compensation for the stress and anxiety she suffered at the boarding gate.