The ruling stemmed from a passenger complaint over the policy, introduced last year, which charges most people an additional fee for bringing anything more than one personal item into the cabin.
Ryanair was not immediately available for comment. The passenger, travelling from Madrid to Brussels, went to court after airline staff forced her to pay 20 euros to bring her 10 kilo luggage on board.
The court ordered Ryanair to refund her the 20 euros plus interest, but rejected her demand for compensation of a further 10 euros 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”, and declared it invalid in Spain. She rejected the demand for compensation, however, saying that while doubtless “the passenger suffered rage and powerlessness in having to pay the extra unforeseen cost at the time of boarding” the discomfort did not reach a level that would justify compensation.
The court said in a statement that its ruling cannot be appealed.
2 comments
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Meaningless posturing by the courts. The airline can introduce whatever policy and charge it wishes as long as it complies with regulations.it has nothing to do with the courts. It might not be popular and is par for the course with Ryanair. Any customer who refuses to pay won't fly. Simples. Potential customers refusing to fly with them is the only language they'll respond to. If I could fly with another airline for a similar overall price, I would. But there isn't. Pity the staff having to deal with confused and angry customers who think they don't have to pay. Ryanair's baggage policy has chopped and changed continuously. It's confusing to say the least. But they have the right to charge what they see fit. It's up to us to pay up or not fly with them.
Well done now the courts should ban the separating of families and travelers on the same booking in order to charge them to sit together rip off Ryanair needs to be brought into line