The European Parliament wants hand luggage to be what was once: part of the ticket, not an extra. This week has taken a key step for each passenger to go on board with a bag and a small suitcase without paying one more cent. On paper sounds good. But the road is long, the text is not yet definitive and some airlines, which have been charging for almost everything for years, they already warned in their day: if they force them to include it for free, they will compensate it on the other hand.
What includes the proposal. The reform raised by Brussels does not remain alone in the luggage. But start there. The text approved at a meeting of the Transportation Commission establishes that passengers should have the right to embark with a bag or backpack (up to 40 × 30 × 15 cm) and a small piece of hand luggage (up to 100 cm in total and 7 kg of weight), all without surcharge.
The resolution also states that children under 12 have insured a seat adjacent to their companion without paying for the selection, and that people with reduced mobility have more guarantees. Among them, to be able to travel with an assistant without paying tickets when necessary, and being compensated if your help equipment is damaged or your assistance animal is injured.
And prepare more changes. One of the most delicate points of the reform has to do with multimodal paths: those in which the trip combines train, bus and plane, for example. Today, if a connection is lost in that type of itineraries, the passenger can be unprotected. Transport Eurodiputados want to change that.
The proposal seeks that if the whole journey has been hired with a single company or platform, the passenger is entitled to assistance (food, accommodation) and, if the seller did not indicate the type of ticket, to the full refund plus 75% compensation. All that, provided that the lost connection implies a delay of at least 60 minutes.
The air sector, uncomfortable. The Association of Airlines (Wing) has lamented that the European Parliament is “limiting the freedom” of passengers to choose the services they need. They criticize that the proposal generates confusion and moves away from the line agreed a few weeks ago by the Member States in the EU Council.
What comes now. It should be noted that the reform is not yet closed. The text approved by the Transportation Commission – by 38 votes in favor, 2 against and 2 abstentions – must go through the Plenary of Parliament in July, and then begin the negotiation process with the Member States. That’s where many of the initial proposals usually soften.
In parallel, airlines press so that the final text does not impose obligations that affect their tariff structure. The great unknown is whether the free of hand luggage will end up armored or if it will remain, once again, subject to interpretation. Until then, everything remains the same: each airline maintains its luggage policy.
Images | Cameron Cox | Michał Parzuchowski
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