Budget airline ordered to refund more than 300 euros for family's hand luggage in cabin charge

This is the fourth judgement that the Spanish consumers association Facau has won in recent months against several low-cost carriers

Raquel Merino

Malaga

Friday, 25 April 2025, 13:08

A court in Huesca has ordered Spain's budget airline Vueling to reimburse a family the 315.36 euros it had to pay for carrying hand luggage in the cabin despite the fact that it complied with the company's cabin baggage limits.

This family paid 1,000 euros for six tickets (three adults and three children) for a flight from Barcelona to Florence; of this amount, 315.36 euros corresponded to a supplement for the Fly fare which allows hand luggage to be taken into the aircraft cabin.

Although the size of the suitcases is small enough to be carried in the luggage racks above the seats, Vueling, like other low-cost airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet, Norwegian and Volotea, prevents it by exceeding the measures that "it has unilaterally imposed to do it for free, forcing you to pay an extra if you want to get on the plane and not check it in".

Consumer association

On returning from the trip, the family contacted the Spanish consumer association, Facua, to help them claim the 315.36 euros back from Vueling. In their complaint, the association's legal team urged the airline to reimburse the money, highlighting that Spain's air navigation law establishes that "the carrier shall be obliged to transport together with the passengers, and within the price of the ticket, the luggage with the weight limits, regardless of the number of packages, and volume set by the regulations".

But Vueling responded "with the usual argument that it uses to reject the refund of the money charged illegally", said the consumer association. Facua therefore drafted a verbal lawsuit that was admitted for processing by the court in Huesca.

In his ruling, the judge upheld the claims of the affected parties, finding that "the dimensions of the suitcases carried by the plaintiffs were within the limits of what is known as cabin luggage". In this way, he ordered Vueling to reimburse the family the 315.36 euros, plus the legal costs and interest since the out-of-court claim was made.

Fourth successful judgement

Facua pointed out that this is the fourth judgement that the association has won in recent months against several low-cost airlines. In December 2024, a court in Cadiz fined Ryanair for the same reason. In February 2025, a court in San Sebastian did the same to Vueling for the same reason. In April 2025, a lawyer from Facua Castilla y León and her husband got back the money for their luggage charge following a court case in Valladolid.

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