Ryanair set to defy court ruling

News Staff Reporter

A SPANISH court labelled budget airline Ryanair’s policy of charging a fee for hand luggage ‘excessive’ after a passenger was fined for taking a small bag onto a plane without a special ticket.

The Mercantile Court in Madrid ruled that the woman should be refunded with interest as the baggage could easily have fitted in the cabin.

A judge declared the budget airline’s policy to be null and void and told Ryanair to remove it from its terms and conditions.

However, the low cost operator hit back, stating: “This ruling will not affect the validity of Ryanair’s baggage policy.

“It is an isolated case which misquoted the (European Court of Justice) and misinterpreted the airlines’ commercial freedom to determine the size of their cabin baggage.”

Ryanair allows only small bags as hand luggage if they can be stowed beneath the seat in front.

The passenger, travelling from Madrid to Brussels, went to court after airline staff forced her to pay €20 to take her 10kg luggage on board.

The court ordered Ryanair to refund her the €20 plus interest, but rejected her demand for compensation of a further €10 for the suffering she experienced, according to court documents.

The judge ruled that the hand luggage, by size and weight, could be easily carried in the cabin, pointing to a Spanish regulation that allows passengers to take hand luggage on board at no additional cost.

The judge characterised the charge as abusive, adding that it ‘curtailed the rights that the passenger has recognised by law’.