ETRC has welcomed last week’s ruling by the European Court of Justice (18.09.14) that hand baggage cannot be subject to a price supplement.

 

The ruling was reached following the case of ‘Vueling Airlines SA v. Instituto Galego de Consumo de la Xunta de Galicia’, reaffirming that hand baggage is a ‘necessary item’ for carriage by passengers and cannot be subject to a price supplement.

 

ETRC says this is ‘a significant boost for the Air Passenger Rights Campaign’, as the Court’s ruling clarifies that airlines do not have the commercial freedom to charge for hand baggage, on condition that such hand baggage meets reasonable requirements in terms of its weight and dimensions, and complies with applicable security requirements.

 

The Court clarified that airlines have the right to charge an additional fee for checked-in luggage, as unlike hand baggage, ‘checked-in baggage’ cannot be considered to be compulsory for the carriage of passengers.

 

Having said this, negotiations on Air Passenger Rights within the Council of the European Union are suspended at present. This is due to an unrelated and  ongoing political dispute between Spain and the UK over the sovereignty of the isthmus that links Gibraltar with mainland Spain, which includes the airport.

 

 

TEMPORARY AVIATION DOSSIER STALEMATE

ETRC reports that this has halted negotiation on all aviation-related dossiers, including the EU’s Open Skies Agreement and the revision of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation. The industry’s trade body continues to monitor developments closely and says it is  hopeful that negotiations will begin again in the near future.

 

It has also confirmed that it will be raising the court judgment with EU Member States and the European Commission in the coming weeks. It is also confident that the judgement will be reflected in final legislation when adopted.

 

The industry association and its national associations say they will continue to advocate the right of passengers to bring airport shopping onboard as personal items, free of charge. It also intends to continue its work with EU Member States to seek national governments’ support for a permanent legislative solution to restore passenger confidence in airport shopping and end consumer confusion.

 

ETRC President Sarah Branquinho (pictured here) said: “ETRC have steadfastly taken the position that passengers should – in line with accepted practice – continue to be able to bring airport shopping on board in addition to the airlines prescribed hand baggage allowance and without further charge.

 

“The European Parliament agreed with us in their vote earlier this year. It is now particularly pleasing that the European Court of Justice has taken a clear stance that hand baggage is not a commercial issue.”

 

[TOP IMAGE: A typical case hearing at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Photo credit: ECOJ/Luxembourg].