Confusion at airport

zaksmum

Just travelled home via Alicante airport with Ryanair.

There are signs at the airport saying you are allowed to carry one airport carrier bag as well as your one piece of hand luggage "by law".

I saw several passengers purchase items from the duty free shop and prepare to take the items on board.

The Ryanair staff prevented them from doing so, saying only the one item of hand luggage is allowed. Pointing out the signs was a waste of time.

So what is the legal position on this? Or is it solely at the discretion of the individual airline?:(

dzug1

The signs are airport regulations. They are probably not that good a translation of the original rule.

Ryanair are free to make more stringent rules - but not less stringent ones.

jacques_chirac

I have found that some airport staff also put their own interpretation on the rules, especially where there is money in it for them. I hope they were giving receipts to anyone paying for excess luggage

Moto2

zaksmum wrote: »

Just travelled home via Alicante airport with Ryanair.

There are signs at the airport saying you are allowed to carry one airport carrier bag as well as your one piece of hand luggage "by law".

I saw several passengers purchase items from the duty free shop and prepare to take the items on board.

The Ryanair staff prevented them from doing so, saying only the one item of hand luggage is allowed. Pointing out the signs was a waste of time.

So what is the legal position on this? Or is it solely at the discretion of the individual airline?:(

The airport management say there is a valid law that allows the airport purchases to be taken on board as well as your hand baggage.
Ryanair says the law isn't valid.
Until one takes the other to court, there is no legal position only opinions.
The problem travellers have is they have very little time to argue their case at the gate.
A recent thread covered it too
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4781097

zaksmum

Ryanair are a law unto themselves I suppose. In most UK airports you are allowed an airport carrier bag as well as your hand luggage but it was confusing and inconvenient for those who had made purchases at Alicante and had to find a way of getting them onto the plane!

Alan_Bowen

This story appeared on the BBC in the summer. Alicante airport spent millions building a new duty free emporium and want customers to spend money to recover their costs. In the days of charter flights this wasn't a problem but now one of their major airlines is Ryanair.

Ryanair make it clear before booking, on the confirmation and boarding card that they only allow one piece of hand baggage but the airport dug out an old piece of law from 1960, in the days when all major airlines were state owned, which says customers are allowed two. At the gate, Ryanair have complete control of whether you board or not and collect 50 euros from those with two bags, it suits them for there to be the confusion as they collect the fees and the airport sells the duty free, good news all around....apart from the customer. Remember follow the rules that your airline imposes, not the one the airport tells you might be true