Brussels opens a file to Spain for sanctioning airlines to charge hand luggage after Ryanair pressure

The European Commission announced on Wednesday the opening of an infringement procedure for restricting the freedom of the airlines to set price on the hand luggage and the sanctions that the Ministry of Social Rights imposed in November from 2024 to five Low Cost airlines (Ryanair, Vueling, Easyjet, Norwegian and Volotea) for abusive practices such as collecting supplements for hand luggage.

Brussels states that “the National Air Navigation Law of Spain does not allow airlines to submit the transport of any hand luggage to an additional charge, restricting the freedom of the airlines to set prices and differentiate between a service that includes the right to a greater hand luggage franchise, and a service that does not offer that possibility and that simply provides the lowest franchise that constitutes a necessary aspect of transport.”