There’s a fight now in Europe over carry-on bags and whether airlines should be able to charge exra for a standard sized bag that goes in the overhead bin. The European Union has been in the process of declaring carry-on bags a human right for several years. This is getting much closer to resolution.
The European Parliament adopted a position in late January that passengers should receive:
- one free personal item
- one free carry-on up to 100 cm total and 7 kg
- Airlines could still charge for larger or additional cabin bags.
The European Council, though, had adopted a narrower position:
- a free personal item up to 40×30×15 cm or something that fits under the seat
- airlines can charge for larger bags
- the right of airlines to gate check bags
This is a split similar to House versus Senate in the U.S. Either way, this would apply at a minimum to all flights to the EU on European airlines, and all flights departing the EU (including, for instance, on U.S. airlines). The European Parliament would extend this to all flights, even on U.S. airlines, flying to the E.U.
European Member States would have to set sanctions that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive, with national enforcement bodies responsible for adjudication.
This has been a live issue for 13 years. It’s been in play since 2013. The European Council reached a political agreement on 5 June 2025. Parliament adopted its second-reading position on January 21, 2026. The European Council failed to approve Parliament’s amendments on March 24, 2026, with every delegation except Portugal agreeing not to approve Parliament’s amendments. A Conciliation Committee meeting begins on Monday, April 20.
- If conciliation fails, the proposal falls.
- If a final text is agreed on the current Council timetable, it would apply 2 years after entry into force
Supporters say the European Court of Justice already held in the Vueling case that hand baggage is, in principle, a necessary aspect of airline passenger transportation and cannot be surcharged if it meets reasonable size, weight, and security requirements. So Parliament wouldn’ tbe inventing a new right – the Court already did that.
And since baggage rules vary by airline, they’re confusing to consumers who don’t know what to expect. Standardizing the free minimum would make fares easier to compare and improve competition. (Odd, since airlines could no longer compete over the product they’re offering – it reduces competition only to price, and standardizes at higher price offerings.)
This matches what customers want though – they always want more without paying more – 90% of European consumers think hand luggage should be included, and 92% want standardized rules, because they’re European. None of which makes this good policy.
- Forcing a bundled product raises the base fare and makes price-sensitive leisure travelers who fly light subsidize everyone else. It precludes airlines from segmenting customers, which means everyone pays more.
- One standard rule for hand luggage doesn’t make sense when different airlines operate different fleets with different overhead bin capacity.
- The proposed 100 cm total dimension cap is smaller than paid carry-on bags today, so this may not guarantee a full rollaboard. And it could standardize what passengers can bring even on higher fares to a more limited size than what they bring on today. That’s not a win for passengers.
What this rule would do is ban the pricing model of the low fare airlines. The carriers and fares most out of conformance today are Ryanair, Wizz Air, Vueling, Transavia, and Volotea.
Other carriers have specific fare options that don’t include full-sized carry-ons, like Air France Basic, KLM Basic, Finnair Superlight, and British Airways “Hand Baggage Only” (Economy Basic).
The carry-on rule is wraped up in debates over over delay compensation changes. Parliament wants to keep the current 3-hour trigger for EU261 compensation, while the European Council is looking to water down protections to 4 hours for shorter intra-EU journeys, and 6 hours for longer ones.
The airlines – in the name of GREED – keep changing policies to appease their shareholders.
Whatever one things about fees (and I hate them as much as anyone else), carry-on bags a “human right”? That’s the sort of Western self-indulgent, narcissistic navel-gazing that’s an insult to people actually getting shot in the street so their daughters don’t get stoned for showing their hair or wanting to go to school.
I could never understand the carry-on baggage fees. I weigh 190 and my wife 125. Yet, we get charged and can only take up to 23 pounds. Shouldn’t my wife be able to take an additional 65 pounds to make the difference?
This issue is a great teaching point for a high school economics course.
The EU bureaucrats want to force people to pay for luggage they don’t carry. They are actually serving the lobby of full-fare airlines who have been marginalised by the much more popular ULCCs (Ryanair being the prime example).
However, the debate is being couched as GIVING rights to passengers. A blatently inaccurate depiction of the facts.
@Thing 1: The only thing worse than a fee is a hidden fee. When you enter the plane, carrying no more than a spare G-string, and I follow with my kitchen sink, the reason you don’t pay a fee is that the cost of my kitchen sink is wrapped into your no-fee fare.
Heck yeah! Europe actually cares about its people and consumers, not just greedy corporations and billionaires. Sure, even they aren’t perfect, and could do even better (please, not worse, like European Council, because 4 hours isn’t cool), but regulations like this and EU261 are examples of what we can and should do in the US.
Nuclear option:
A “fee” requires the company website to document that the marginal cost of providing something is at least as high as any fee charged for it. Anything that does not meet this test must not be called a fee and must be considered part of the price, documented as such at the time of purchase and the price must be clearly stated. You can not charge for something where the price is not obvious.
@L3. Completely agree — I’m not defending fees, merely venting about over-the-top language and arguments.
Overhead bin space is now a “Human Right”? C’mon…..
Think outside the box – first bag free, whether carry-on or checked. Then charge for anything else (except a personal bag – ie purse or laptop bag). More people would check bags meaning faster loading and those that do carry on, now have space to stow. The airlines still get baggage fees.
@ 1990
Where are you based? Think we’d enjoy chatting over a few G&Ts. Seattle here.
@David R Miller – airlines are not charities. They are owned by shareholders so they have a fiduciary duty to look out for them first. That isn’t greed, just good business.
People that think companies are “greedy” just expect something for nothing. Buy stock in the company (BTW airlines are usually horrible investments) if you think they charge too much and make too much money so you can benefit. Also if they charge more than you want don’t buy their product. It is really that simple.
Now I expect a whining response from our resident socialist 1990
@OtherSteve — NYC. We tend to care about consumers and workers here too. Trying to at least. (For instance, see our proposed “pied-à-terre” tax, announced in April 2026 by Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani, targets an annual surcharge on non-primary residences valued at million or more. Aimed at luxury second homes, it targets non-residents to generate an estimated $500 million annually for city budget gaps.)
The EU is beyond parody. I say that as a citizen of the EU.
Didn’t I see somewhere that Southwest Airlines will ban carry-on for those that buy the cheapest seats (and then charge them for the bags that will now have to be checked)?
@Common Sense — Wait, since when are you based in Europe? Or is this one of those ‘by blood’ citizenships, like your grandma was Italian, etc. Because, your usual ‘hot takes’ on here are right-wing by American standards, probably far-right by European standards, unless you’re in Slovakia or with AfD (not Hungary, anymore, thankfully… bahaha!)