Ireland and Belgium Push EU Toward New Carry-On Rules

Regulatory and consumer actions in Ireland and Belgium are sharpening the European focus on airline carry-on rules, raising questions over whether low-cost carriers such as Ryanair can maintain fee-heavy cabin baggage strategies while keeping their headline fares among the lowest in the market.

National Campaigns Put Hand Luggage Fees Under Scrutiny

Belgium has emerged as one of the most active European states in challenging paid hand luggage policies. In 2024, Belgian consumer association Test-Achats launched a high-profile complaint against several low-cost carriers that charge passengers to bring a standard cabin bag into the aircraft, arguing that such practices constitute an unfair commercial practice under national and European consumer protections. Publicly available information shows that Ryanair was one of the principal airlines named in that action, reflecting concerns about how much of a typical trip cost now sits outside the advertised base fare.

Consumer groups coordinated across borders have since built on that move. Euroconsumers, a network including organisations in Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal, has repeatedly urged European institutions and national governments to classify a reasonably sized cabin bag as an intrinsic part of air transport, not an optional extra. Recent position papers highlight survey data from Belgian and other European travellers who report confusion over differing airline rules and resentment at having to pay extra for bags they assumed were included in the ticket price.

The Belgian push sits alongside growing attention in Ireland, where Ryanair is headquartered and where aviation policy debates closely track the fortunes of the low-cost model. While Ireland has not yet adopted specific national legislation on carry-on fees, Irish travel and consumer advocates increasingly frame the country as central to any European effort to reset hand luggage rules, given that many Ryanair flights start or end in Irish airports and the carrier remains a dominant player in the short-haul market.

Together, Belgium’s formal complaints and Ireland’s prominence in political and media discussion have turned cabin baggage into a test case for how far Europe is willing to go in intervening in airline pricing structures that have underpinned decades of cheap fares.

EU-Level Debate on Standard Cabin Bags Gains Momentum

The pressure from national authorities and consumer groups is feeding into a broader European Union debate about standardising carry-on rules. European Parliament resolutions and written questions over the past two years have called on the European Commission to revisit legislation governing air services, with a specific focus on whether airlines should be required to accept a minimum, common standard of cabin baggage at no extra charge.

Parliamentary documents note persistent complaints that passengers cannot reliably compare offers when cabin bag entitlements differ sharply between carriers, even on the same route. Members of the European Parliament have argued that disparities in hand luggage rules undermine the effectiveness of existing consumer law and package travel protections, and they have urged the Commission to clarify whether paid cabin bags are compatible with the spirit of current passenger-rights legislation.

In parallel, recent enforcement steps in Spain against several low-cost airlines for charging for certain forms of hand luggage have intensified calls for an EU-wide solution rather than a patchwork of national decisions. Consumer advocates in Belgium and Ireland point to those Spanish actions as an example of how regulatory intervention can alter commercial behaviour, but they also warn that inconsistent national approaches risk deepening confusion for cross-border travellers.

For now, the European Commission has signalled that it is examining the issue, but it has not yet proposed detailed new rules on free cabin baggage. Travel industry analysts suggest that any eventual measure is likely to emerge from an update to the overarching air services regulation, which governs how airlines set fares and conditions of carriage across the single market.

Ryanair’s Baggage Strategy Faces a Shifting Regulatory Climate

Ryanair has built much of its business model on low base fares supplemented by a complex menu of optional fees, including for larger cabin bags. Current publicly available policy information shows that a standard Ryanair ticket includes only a small personal item that must fit under the seat, with larger cabin bags and priority boarding typically offered for an additional charge. Travel guides released in 2025 underline that the airline continues to apply strict size limits to both free and paid carry-on items.

This structure has so far allowed Ryanair to advertise some of the lowest headline prices in Europe, while encouraging passengers who want a wheeled carry-on or extra flexibility to pay more. Industry reports indicate that ancillary revenue from baggage and related products now represents a significant share of the airline’s income, helping it to offset fuel costs and enable aggressive route expansion.

However, the new focus on carry-on rules in Belgium, Ireland and at EU level signals potential challenges to that approach. If regulators ultimately decide that a standard cabin bag must be included free of charge, Ryanair and other low-cost carriers could be forced either to absorb the cost or to lift base fares. Analysts following the European airline sector note that such a shift would likely narrow the price gap between ultra-low-cost carriers and traditional airlines, at least for passengers who currently pay for priority boarding or larger hand luggage.

Ryanair’s latest financial disclosures continue to emphasise its ultra-low-cost positioning, but they also acknowledge ongoing legal and regulatory proceedings in several EU markets. Investors are monitoring how any eventual ruling on cabin baggage might affect the airline’s fee structure and, by extension, its capacity to sustain rapid growth.

Travellers Confront Confusion While Waiting for Clear Rules

For passengers flying within Europe in 2026, the result of these overlapping initiatives is a landscape that can be difficult to navigate. Reports from travel forums and consumer organisations describe travellers being caught out by different definitions of “hand luggage,” with some airlines treating small trolleys as paid items while others continue to allow them free of charge in the cabin. Belgium’s consumer complaints have highlighted cases where passengers only discover extra cabin bag fees close to departure, when it is often too late to switch carrier.

Irish and Belgian consumer advocates argue that this confusion undermines the idea of transparent pricing that has been central to the success of low-cost travel in Europe. They contend that when carry-on entitlements vary from airline to airline and sometimes from fare class to fare class, even experienced travellers struggle to make like-for-like comparisons. This, they say, erodes trust in online fare displays and can leave passengers feeling ambushed by charges at the airport.

At the same time, some travel industry commentators note that tighter cabin bag rules have allowed airlines such as Ryanair to reduce boarding times and improve punctuality by limiting the number of larger bags in overhead bins. As a result, regulators are likely to face a balancing act: safeguarding fair and transparent pricing while allowing airlines to manage operational efficiency and safety concerns related to cabin baggage.

Until clearer EU-wide guidance emerges, experts advise passengers to pay close attention to airline-specific baggage pages and to assume that the cheapest advertised fare may not include a standard cabin suitcase. For travellers using hubs in Ireland and Belgium, the outcome of current debates could determine whether future trips within Europe feel simpler and more predictable, or whether cabin baggage remains one of the most contentious elements of the low-cost experience.