Ryanair has been told to change its policy of charging passengers to take hand luggage on flights in a landmark ruling from a Spanish court.
Europe’s biggest airline was ordered to refund a female passenger the €20 (£17) fine she was forced to pay to take her 10kg bag on board, with interest.
A magistrate at the Commercial Court called the hand luggage charge “abusive” and “excessive”, ruling that the airline’s policy was null and void as it violates Spanish legislation.
She told Ryanair it should remove the policy of charging for hand luggage from its terms and conditions.
The budget carrier used to allow passengers to bring one small and one larger piece of hand luggage on board for free, but it changed its policy in 2018.
Now, travellers must pay extra if they want to take anything more than a small bag that fits under the seat in front of them into the cabin.
The magistrate said she understood the “rage and powerlessness” the passenger felt when she was fined for taking her luggage on board, adding that the bag could have easily fitted in the cabin.
The case was heard after the woman was charged while travelling from Madrid to Brussels.
Although the money involved is negligible, it could lead to thousands of similar cases being brought.
Ryanair has said it will not be changing its baggage policy in response to the ruling, which cannot be appealed.
“This ruling will not affect Ryanair’s baggage policy, either in the past or in the future, as it is an isolated case that misinterpreted our commercial freedom to determine the size of our cabin baggage,” the airline said in a statement.
