EU leaders agree to ban airlines from charging passengers for hand luggage

After a decade of negotiations, the European Parliament and European Council have reached a provisional agreement on redefining air passenger rights. The new rules keep financial compensation the same for delays of three hours or longer. They also ban airlines from charging for hand luggage or for parents to sit next to their child. The new rules should take effect next year.

Over the past decade, several member states pushed to scale down the compensation air passengers are entitled to if their flight is canceled or delayed for three hours or more. The European Parliament and Council resisted the push and decided to keep the compensation the same as it has been in recent decades.

Air passengers are entitled to compensation between €250 and €600, depending on the flight distance, if their flight is delayed for three hours or longer. Airlines could reduce the compensation if they offer passengers re-routing options. Airlines don’t have to pay compensation if the delay or cancellation was caused by circumstances beyond their control, including natural disasters, war, weather conditions, unruly passengers, or airport, air navigation, or groundhandling service provider strikes.

The MEPs also agreed that air passengers have the right to free hand luggage. The new rules will therefore put an end to the extra costs that low-cost airlines like Transavia and easyJet are charging. Under the new rules, passengers are entitled to a free personal item measuring 40 by 30 by 15 centimeters and a small wheeled suitcase with a maximum weight of 7 kilograms.

Airlines have warned that the stricter rules will inevitably lead to higher ticket prices, especially with the current high fuel costs caused by the war in the Middle East. But the MEPs agreed that air passengers should have the right to take something with them on a flight. However, they also agreed that airlines may offer cheaper tickets to “passengers who choose voluntarily to travel without hand luggage.”

The new rules also stipulate that airlines must ensure that an adult traveling with a child aged 14 or younger is seated next to that child without extra costs. “The same right will apply to passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility, and to pregnant women.” Airlines will also no longer be allowed to charge additional fees for correcting name spelling errors or getting a printed version of a boarding pass.

“Today, Europe is delivering for air passengers. We have protected the rights people already have, added new safeguards, and brought greater clarity when things go wrong,” said Virginijus Sinkevičius, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee.

“Parliament was clear from day one: we wanted to modernise the rules, but we would not let passengers pay the price. After more than a decade of deadlock, Europe is finally updating air passenger rights while keeping passengers firmly at the centre,” Sinkevičius said.

The European Parliament and European Council must separately confirm the deal within the next six weeks. The European Parliament is planning to vote on the agreement during its July plenary session.

If all goes smoothly, the new rules should take effect in 2027.