Ryanair breaks law by not allowing you free hand luggage, claims Spanish consumer group
The consumer group says Spain's Law of Air Navigation lets people bring hand luggage free of charge on planes – a claim slammed by the airline
A SPANISH consumer group says Ryanair is breaking the law by not allowing all passengers to carry free hand luggage on planes – a claim that has been slammed by the airline.
FACUA-Consumidores en Acción says Spain’s Law of Air Navigation allows people to bring all hand luggage onto planes for free, unless it is too heavy or too big in relation to the size of the plane.
But Ryanair has ridiculed the claims, telling Sun Online Travel that, “No airline allows all passengers to bring all their bags on the aircraft.”
FACUA has quoted article 97 of the “Ley de Navegación Aérea” as saying: “The transport provider will be obliged to transport free of charge in the cabin, such as hand luggage, the objects and packages that the traveller carries with them.
“The only exception to deny transportation is safety reasons, linked to the weight or size of the object, in relation to the characteristics of the aircraft.”
The Irish airline has retaliated by calling the claims false.
A spokesperson said: “These claims are clearly false. No airline allows all passengers to bring all their bags on the aircraft."
They continued: “Up until four years ago, Ryanair only allowed one carry-on bag – now up to 50 per cent of customers will continue to bring two free carry-on bags from 1 Nov as they travel on Priority Boarding.
“Our new lower cost €8 x 10kg checked bag (compared to the current €25 x 20kg checked bag) means that checked bag income will probably decline as we deliver more savings to Ryanair customers."
As of November 1, all Ryanair passengers can carry one small bag on to the plane free of charge - so long as it fits under the seat.
However, free second bags weighing up to 10kg will only be allowed for priority boarders.
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All other customers will have to prepay for their 10kg bags at a cost of £8 and these will need to be checked in at theairport bag drop desk.
Ryanair says many customers will prefer this new charge which is lower than the £25 for a 20kg suitcase.
FACUA says it has been unhappy for some time about all the extras faced by air travellers after the purchase of their basic ticket.