Laurence Dollimore
RYANAIR has paid back €13.20 to a passenger after she successfully challenged their booking policy.
According to consumer rights group FACUA, it is the ‘first out of court settlement’ against the budget carrier since it was fined – alongside other airlines – some €150million in May for cabin luggage charges and other ‘abusive’ policies.
Under the current laws, airlines have the right to determine the measurements and weights of carry-on baggage that can be brought on board, but they cannot charge extra for it.
READ MORE: Ryanair loses mini court battle in Spain
Agueda Fernandez Martin had bought flights in May, travelling from Sevilla to Santiago de Compostela.
But in order to be able to take hand luggage, she had to select the ‘Priority & 2 pieces of hand luggage’ option.
This increased each journey by €6.60, meaning the total extra required was €13.20.
Agueda said: “I was forced to pay for hand and cabin luggage because in the end, no matter how little you take on the trip, what you need does not fit in a backpack.”
Agueda contacted FACUA, which launched a platform for anyone who believed they had suffered ‘abusive’ hand luggage charges.
They took their case directly to Ryanair, who replied via email on August 27.
They agreed to refund Agueda the €13.20, which has already been deposited into her bank account.
A FACUA spokesperson said: “Right now it is probably worth it for airlines to return the money when they receive these claims.
“Even if it is a small amount of money, we must claim for the charge for hand luggage.”
