The Petitions Committee of the European Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling for this Airlines ensure that passengers can take their hand luggage with them free of charge. The MEP from Citizen Jordi Cañas managed to include in the text an explicit request to the European Commission and the Member States to prepare a ECJ ruling that considers hand luggage as “hand luggage”. “indispensable element” of the passenger and therefore, There may be no additional costs.
For this reason, the resolution calls on countries to ensure respect for the decision of the European Court of Justice. It is also important to ensure that airlines provide transparent information about the price and timing of the flight. “Let Companies Low-cost airlines make deals on ticket prices by hiding the surcharge for carrying hand luggage until the end of the purchase. Europe has already spoken out on this issue, and yet Member States continue to allow airlines to play with prices and deceive travelers. That must have an end”,
Currently, passengers who fail to pay the additional charges required by certain airlines are fined at the gate for carrying carry-on luggage. The resolution led by MEP Cañas calls for an end to this illegal and abusive practice for consumers.
The text also calls on the Commission to develop legislation across the EU regulating the harmonization of the dimensions and weight of hand luggage cases, as this aspect is not further explained in the ECJ ruling. According to the text, the different standards between individual airlines mean additional hidden costs for passengers, making it difficult for them to choose the best deal.. This practice could be considered abusive, particularly given connecting flights and the possibility that a passenger may have to fly on different airlines and different standards on the same day. In addition, it highlights other possible hidden costs such as seat allocation, which make it difficult for the consumer to know the final price of the ticket in advance.
The decision was accepted unanimously The European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions will be voted on in the plenary session in Strasbourg next October.
