{"id":151810,"date":"2025-06-24T22:46:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T22:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/the-european-parliament-has-taken-a-step-to-protect-free-hand-luggage-on-flights-this-is-not-the-plan-supported-by-all-27-member-states\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T22:46:55","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T22:46:55","slug":"the-european-parliament-has-taken-a-step-to-protect-free-hand-luggage-on-flights-this-is-not-the-plan-supported-by-all-27-member-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/the-european-parliament-has-taken-a-step-to-protect-free-hand-luggage-on-flights-this-is-not-the-plan-supported-by-all-27-member-states\/","title":{"rendered":"The European Parliament has taken a step to protect free hand luggage on flights. This is not the plan supported by all 27 member states."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The European Parliament Pushes for Free Hand Luggage: A Step Towards Passenger Rights<\/h2>\n

The \u00a0European Parliament\u00a0 is making strides to return hand luggage to its former status as an integral part of air travel, rather than a mere \u00a0extra charge\u00a0. This week, it took a key step to ensure that every passenger can board with a \u00a0handbag\u00a0 and a small piece of luggage without incurring any additional fees. While this sounds promising on paper, it’s essential to note that the path is long, and the proposed text is not yet finalized. Some airlines, which have been charging for almost everything for years, have already warned that if compelled to include free hand luggage, they will compensate for it in other ways.<\/p>\n

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Details of the Proposed Legislation<\/h2>\n

The reform put forth by Brussels covers more than just hand luggage\u2014though that is where it begins. The approved text from a meeting of the \u00a0Transport Committee\u00a0 specifies that passengers should have the right to board with both a \u00a0handbag\u00a0 or backpack (up to dimensions of 40\u00d730\u00d715 cm) and a small piece of hand luggage (up to 100 cm in total length and weighing no more than 7 kg), all without incurring extra charges.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Additionally, the resolution aims to guarantee that children under 12 will have an adjacent seat to their guardians without any charge for seat selection. It also highlights the need for improved assurances for persons with reduced mobility. Key provisions include the ability to travel with an assistant at no extra charge when necessary and compensation for damages to their assistive devices or injuries to their assistance animals.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Proposed Changes to Multi-Modal Journey Regulation<\/h2>\n

Another delicate aspect of the reform concerns \u00a0multi-modal journeys\u00a0. These are travel itineraries that combine \u00a0trains, buses,\u00a0 and \u00a0flights\u00a0. Currently, if a passenger misses a connection on such itineraries, they may find themselves unprotected. The Members of Parliament (MEPs) in the Transport Committee want to change that situation.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/div>\n

The proposal outlines that if the entire trip is booked with a single airline or platform, the passenger should be entitled to assistance (food, accommodation) and, if the seller failed to indicate the ticket type, be refunded in full plus a \u00a075% compensation\u00a0. All of this applies, provided the missed connection results in a delay of at least \u00a060 minutes\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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The Aviation Sector’s Discontent<\/h2>\n

The \u00a0Airlines Association (ALA)\u00a0 has expressed discontent over the European Parliament’s move to “limit passengers’ freedom” to choose the services they need. Their critique highlights that the proposal could create confusion and diverges from an agreement reached by EU member states a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Next Steps<\/h2>\n

It is worth noting that the reform is far from finalized. The text approved by the Transport Committee\u2014by a vote of 38 in favor, 2 against, and 2 abstentions\u2014will undergo a plenary vote in July, after which it will enter negotiation processes with member states. Historically, this phase tends to result in softening many initial proposals.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n \"Ryanair\n<\/div>\n

As this negotiation unfolds, airlines are encouraging a final text that does not impose requirements that could impact their \u00a0pricing structures\u00a0. The lingering uncertainty is whether the provision for free hand luggage will be firmly established or, yet again, left open to interpretation. Until a resolution is reached, each airline continues to uphold its luggage policies.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Images | Cameron Cox<\/a> | Micha\u0142 Parzuchowski<\/a><\/p>\n

In closing, the ongoing debate over hand luggage policies highlights the tension between consumer rights and airline profitability, a dynamic that will continue to evolve in the near future.<\/p>\n


\n
General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Parliament Pushes for Free Hand Luggage: A Step Towards Passenger Rights The \u00a0European Parliament\u00a0 is making strides to return hand luggage to its former status as an integral part of air travel, rather than a mere \u00a0extra charge\u00a0. This week, it took a key step to ensure that every passenger can board with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[853,2733,656,2926,2927,1632,2311,1482,2087,611,1276,14816],"class_list":["post-151810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-european","tag-flights","tag-free","tag-hand","tag-luggage","tag-member","tag-parliament","tag-plan","tag-protect","tag-states","tag-step","tag-supported"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}