The European Union has just finalized some new regulations that will impact airline passengers. In a separate post, I covered how we’re going to see positive reforms to Europe’s (already) generous flight delay compensation scheme. That came as a surprise, since the belief was that the policies were going to become less generous.
That’s not all that’s changing, though. We knew that regulators in the European Union were considering introducing common dimensions for hand luggage, essentially banning airlines from charging fees for carry-on bags. There’s now an update there as well, as rules will change, but not quite as drastically as had been proposed in the past.
European Union will force airlines to market fares with bags
In 2025, we saw members of the European Parliament push legislation to introduce common dimensions for hand luggage. The idea was that passengers should have the right to carry one personal item, such as a handbag, backpack, or laptop (maximum dimensions of 40x30x15 centimeters), plus one carry-on item weighing up to seven kilograms (maximum dimensions 100 centimeters), onboard flights.
In June 2025, the European Parliament’s transport committee even voted in favor of this proposal. However, that didn’t mean that this would actually become law, as negotiations still needed to take place with the European Commission and the Council of the EU.
As it turns out, though, quite a bit has changed over the past year, and European Parliament has just reached a deal involving carry-on bags, but it’s not what was initially proposed. With the new policy, the idea is that airlines will have to display ticket prices inclusive of a full size carry-on bag, along with a personal item:
To create price transparency, air fares including allowance for a piece of hand baggage shall be displayed by default before the start of any booking process to facilitate fare comparisons between airlines.
However, they’re not actually banning charging for carry-on bags. Instead, during the booking process, passengers can still opt not to have a carry-on bag, in exchange for a discount. So this is all about how airlines market flights, and the idea is that a fare comparison between airlines will be more apples-to-apples.
While this legislation has now been passed, it’s not expected to be implemented until some point in 2027, so it remains to be seen exactly how flights can and can’t be marketed, and when the discount can be provided.
Ryanair criticizes this “gobbledygook” legislation
Suffice it to say that this legislation will have absolutely massive implications for how Ryanair markets flights, since the airline is known for selling flights that cost very little, often less than a ride to the airport. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has a lot to say about this, unsurprisingly:
“These latest EU261 regs are more bureaucratic bunkum from the EU Parliament and Council. Instead of encouraging EU airlines to advertise our lowest fares (which exclude 2nd cabin bags), which is what over 50% of our customers choose, these new rubbish regulations require airlines to falsely advertise higher air fares, making EU airlines even less competitive.”
“As usual, neither the EU Parliament, nor the Council, have done anything to improve the competitiveness of EU airlines by abolishing Europe’s failed harmful ETS taxation or reforming the EU’s broken ATC system. Europe’s ATC system accounts for over 90% of airline delays, yet the airlines are not allowed to recover our EU261 costs from these failing Govt monopolies.”
“At a time when Putin invaded Ukraine, and there is a war in the Middle East, Europe needs to be more competitive if it is to deliver growth. At this time of international crisis, all the EU Parliament and Council can do is invent new regulations, which will now force airlines to advertise higher air fares (which include 2nd cabin bag fees) instead of advertising our lowest air fares (which exclude 2nd cabin bag fees) which is what more than 50% of Ryanair passengers choose on a daily basis. When Europe needs economic growth to improve its defence spending, the best our leaders can manage is new regulations about airline cabin bags, which deny airlines the right to advertise our lowest available air fares.”
“Ryanair again calls on Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU Parliament, to stop making rubbish regulations which makes EU air travel less competitive, and instead do something competitive for European consumers by abolishing Europe’s discriminatory ETS tax (which only applies to intra-EU flights) and finally deliver effective ATC reform by requiring that ATC’s are fully staffed for first wave of morning flights, and protecting EU over flights during national ATC strikes.”
Is this consumer protection or government overreach?
I’ve gotta be honest… I didn’t support the concept of forcing airlines to include a carry-on bag with their fares, and I also don’t support forcing airlines to only market fares that include a carry-on (though I at least find this a little less offensive).
I’m not some uber-libertarian person who thinks governments shouldn’t get involved in anything, but I just don’t see an issue with airlines marketing fares without carry-ons and charging for them, as long as they’re transparent about it.
Why should the government dictate what should and shouldn’t be included with an airline ticket, in terms of how they market it? For example, have you tried booking a ticket on Ryanair’s website? I can promise you, they don’t hide the fact that their basic fares don’t include a carry-on bag. Frankly, they couldn’t be much more transparent about it.
I could understand this concept a couple of decades ago, when the idea of a fare without a full size carry-on was basically unheard of. But nowadays there are plenty of these fares, including from legacy carriers.
Now, some people may argue “well everyone needs a carry-on bag, so it’s ridiculous to market a fare without one in the first place.” I’d disagree with that. For example, many ultra low cost carriers charge less for checked bags than carry-on bags. Maybe someone wants to only bring a personal item, and then pay for a checked bag.
In 2026, people should know that regardless of the airline, simply comparing fares isn’t an apples-to-apples exercise.
Bottom line
The European Union is implementing new rules, regarding how airlines can market tickets. When this concept was first proposed last year, the idea was that all fares would have to include a full size carry-on.
Ultimately they’ve backtracked a bit on this concept, and the new idea is that all fares have to be marketed with a carry-on bag included, and then airlines can subsequently offer discounts if you only want to travel with a personal item.
It remains to be seen exactly how the implementation will work, but presumably this will hugely change the way that carriers like Ryanair market their flights.
I understand the concept behind this, but personally I find this to be unnecessary, and think it just creates confusion. It’s 2026, and passengers shouldn’t expect that all fares have the same inclusions. These new rules will make it harder for someone to comparison shop if they maybe like traveling with a personal item, and then paying for a checked bag, rather than paying for a carry-on bag.
What do you make of the European Union’s updated carry-on bag marketing rules?