Business

How has Ryanair changed its cabin baggage rule – and will other airlines do it too? | Ryanair

Published

2 days ago

July 5, 2025

For all but the most seasoned travellers the metal bag sizers used by budget airlines have become an instrument of fear because of the heavy financial penalty incurred if hand baggage is too big to fit.

But as the summer holiday season gets under way there is some good news for those who struggle to travel light: Ryanair has announced it is increasing the size of the small “personal” bag you can take in the cabin for free by 20%.

This sounds unusually generous of Ryanair – is it?

Yes. But it comes as airlines fall into line behind a new EU guaranteed bag size of 40cm by 30cm by 15cm. The current dimensions of the Ryanair free carry-on limit are 40cm by 25cm by 20cm – below the EU rule. It is increasing them to 40cm by 30cm by 20cm.

Ryanair trumpets this is “bigger than the EU standard”. It says the change “will be implemented over the coming weeks, as our airport bag sizers are adjusted”.

Ryanair passengers can add a larger cabin bag to a flight booking for £6 to £36 by buying a priority package. Photograph: Wiskerke/Alamy

The size change represents a 20% increase in volume and means Ryanair will be accepting free bags one-third bigger than the new EU minimum.

But that is the only aspect of Ryanair’s baggage policy that is changing. If you get it wrong and a gate check reveals the bag is oversized you will pay a fee of £60. A larger cabin bag can be added to a flight booking for £6 to £36 depending on the route but, again, if it is deemed too large at the airport it will cost £75 to stow.

Will other airlines change their luggage rules, too?

Some won’t have do anything. Rival budget airline easyJet, for example, already allows a more generous free underseat bag. Wizz Air’s current free bag policy is the same as the one that Ryanair is moving to.

The airline association Airlines for Europe (A4E) says its 28 members have started applying the bag dimensions which were agreed by EU transport ministers last month.

“This will bring more clarity to passengers across Europe,” says its managing director, Ourania Georgoutsakou. “From city-hoppers to family travellers, everyone will benefit from the same clear rule across our members’ networks.”

Standardising cabin-bag rules has been on the Brussels agenda for years with the decision to settle on a size enabling frequent travellers to buy one piece of luggage that will be accepted by multiple airlines.

All A4E airlines will be following the bag rule by the end of the 2025 summer season, it says, adding that “carriers will continue to permit larger personal items at their discretion”.

Aren’t hand baggage fees being abolished anyway?

Not yet, but they could be. European consumer groups are calling on EU lawmakers to investigate budget airlines for “exploiting consumers” by charging for hand luggage.

In May, BEUC, an umbrella group for 44 consumer organisations, called for Brussels to investigate seven airlines, including Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air for this. BEUC director general Agustín Reyna said the airlines were “ignoring the EU top court who ruled that charging [for] reasonably sized hand baggage is illegal”.

Wizz Air is following other airlines in being investigated in Spain for charging passengers for hand luggage and seat reservations. Photograph: Marek Slusarczyk/Alamy

The organisation was referring to a EU court of justice ruling in 2014 that said the “carriage of hand baggage cannot be made subject to a price supplement, provided that it meets reasonable requirements in terms of its weight and dimensions”.

In the meantime, Spain has become a battleground for the issue. Last year, its consumer affairs ministry fined five carriers, including Ryanair, a total of €179m (£150m) for charging passengers for hand luggage and seat reservations. Now low-cost carrier Wizz Air is being investigated, too.

Will charges be banned?

Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, says no. He is dismissive of the Spanish effort, recently telling the Guardian the country has a “mad minister who’s decided that as General Franco passed some law 30 years before Spain joined the EU, passengers are free to bring as much baggage as they want.”

A Spanish court has now temporarily suspended the fines on three of the airlines (including Ryanair) while the matter is under judicial review, after a legal challenge.

To complicate matters further, last month the transport committee of the European parliament voted to give passengers the right to an extra piece of free hand luggage weighing up to 7kg.

Under the new rule, travellers could bring one cabin bag measuring up to 100cm (based on the sum of the dimensions) on board their flight, as well a personal bag, at no additional cost. (MEPs also want children under 12 years old to be seated next to their accompanying passenger free of charge.)

The proposed law requires approval from 55% of EU member states, but if adopted after the negotiations due to start this month, would extend to all flights within the EU, as well as routes to and from the EU.

The airline industry is predictably opposed, stating that the cost of the bag will be folded into overall prices, pushing up fares.

“Europe’s airline market is built on choice,” Georgoutsakou says. “Forcing a mandatory trolley bag strips passengers of that choice and obliges passengers to pay for services they may not want or need. What’s next? Mandatory popcorn and drinks as part of your cinema ticket?

“The European parliament should let travellers decide what services they want, what services they pay for and, importantly, what services they don’t,” she says.

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Business

Trump steps up trade wars with 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea | Trump tariffs

Published

29 minutes ago

July 7, 2025

Lauren Aratani in New York

Donald Trump unveiled plans to step up his trade wars on Monday, announcing Japan and South Korea will soon face US tariffs of 25% in a significant escalation of his controversial economic strategy.

The US president, who indicated that he would notify as many as as 15 countries of new, higher rates on Monday, posted copies of letters addressed to the leaders of Japan and South Korea on social media. Trump said the rates were set to go into effect 1 August.

The letters were largely identical and informed the leaders that there will be no tariffs if their countries “decide to build or manufacture product within the United States”.

Trump also threatened higher tariffs if the countries place additional tariffs on US exports. “If for any reason you decide to raise your tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto that 25% we charge,” he wrote.

Trump initially announced a slate of so-called reciprocal tariffs in April, on what the White House dubbed “liberation day”, with some countries facing rates as high as 50%

While he paused those tariffs for 90 days amid market turmoil, this reprieve is due to expire on Wednesday 9 July.

Trump officials initially suggested they would strike dozens of deals with key economies during the pause, but have since indicated that they would use an extension to continue talks.

The treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said last month the administration was aiming to wrap up negotiations by Labor Day on 1 September.

The US has so far settled deals with three countries: the UK, China and Vietnam, and Bessent said there were over a dozen countries the US is still trying to negotiate with.

The new August deadline for countries without a deal amounts to a further three-week reprieve, but also triggers fresh uncertainty for importers because of the lack of clarity around the tariffs.

As the July deadline has approached, Trump’s officials have been racing to broker deals. Over the weekend, one European diplomat said the US may have to “show muscle if the deal is not good enough”.

The White House also reached an impasse in negotiations with Japan, despite initial optimism. Trump on Friday said it is “much easier to send a letter” and that the offers are “take it or leave it”.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 sank by almost 0.9% after Trump posted his first letters.

Though the US stock market has largely recovered from the uncertainty around Trump’s trade war, the US dollar still remains weakened after months of trade fights. At the beginning of this year, the dollar had its worst six months in over 50 years, falling 10.8% since the start of 2025.

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Business

Goods from Japan and South Korea hit with 25% levy

Published

43 minutes ago

July 7, 2025

Natalie Sherman

The US plans to impose a 25% tax on products entering the country from South Korea and Japan on 1 August, President Donald Trump has said.

He announced the tariffs in a post on social media, sharing letters he said had been sent to leaders of the two countries.

The White House has said it expects to send similar messages to dozens of countries in coming days as the 90-day pause it placed on some of its most aggressive tariffs is set to expire.

The first two letters suggest that Trump remains committed to his initial push for tariffs, with little change from the rates announced in April.

At that time, he said he was looking to hit goods from Japan with duties of 24% and charge a 25% on products made in South Korea.

Those tariffs were included in a bigger “Liberation Day” announcement, which imposed tariffs on goods from countries around the world.

After outcry and turmoil on financial markets following the initial tariffs announcement, Trump suspended some of the import taxes to allow for talks. That deadline is set to expire on 9 July.

On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected “a busy couple of days”.

“We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals,” he told US business broadcaster CNBC.

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