NEXT year a load of new passenger rights will come into force, making it trickier for airlines to charge passengers unnecessarily.
The law, which aims to simplify passenger rights, was given the green light by the European Council earlier this week
The new rules are set to be introduced in mid-2027, and they could save families hundreds.
Here are all the changes you need to know about – and how much they could save a family of four.
Family seats
Over the years, budget airlines have forced families to pay a fee to sit together.
However, under the new rules, airlines will no longer be allowed to charge families to stay together.
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Instead, they must give the seat next to a child to the person accompanying them if they are under the age of 14.
The same rule applies to pregnant women or anyone with reduced mobility.
Ryanair used to make adults travelling with children pay one reserved seat fee and then they could select seats beside them for up to four children.
This meant for a usually for a family of four, and additional fee of £8 each way, per adult – if both parents wanted to sit with their children.
= Potential savings: £32
Hidden carry-on and hand luggage fees
Another trick by airlines to get more money was to charge for suitcases, sometimes even at the gate.
Under the new rules, there will be a baseline for ticket pricing where comparison sites and airlines have to display fares including cabin luggage, from the offset.
Passengers will be allowed a personal item each, which can measure up to 40x30x15cm and a small cabin suitcase weighing up to 7kg.
If you do travel bag-free, some airlines may offer a discount.
For Ryanair, passengers could be set back between £46 and £75 for a standard 10kg cabin bag that hasn’t been booked.
This would rise to between £70 and £75 for any oversized cabin bag, each way.
= Potential savings: £300
Boarding pass fees
Some airlines force you to download their app or create an account just to get your boarding pass.
And if you didn’t and instead wanted a paper boarding pass, often you are forced to pay.
However, under the new rules, airlines cannot force passengers to use the app or charge for a physical boarding pass.
For example, with Wizz Air if you check-in at the airport and they print off your boarding pass this will set you back between £33.92 and £42.20 per person, per way.
= Potential savings: £337.60
Name correction fees
If you accidentally made a typo or spelt your name wrong, you’d often have to pay a fee to have this corrected.
Airlines will no longer be able to charge for correcting a basic typo on a ticket.
A number of airlines allow for allow minor corrections of up to three characters for free, such as Wizz Air and Ryanair.
However, if there is anything more than this or the correction is made less than 48hours before your flight, then Ryanair charges between £115 to £160.
= Potential savings: £640
‘No show’ flight cancellations
For some reason or another, you may miss or skip the outbound leg of your return trip.
This previously has resulted in the airline cancelling travellers‘ return flight and as a result, the passenger is forced to buy a completely new ticket – often last-minute and therefore more expensive.
This could even cost thousands depending on the location.
Soon this will change though as passengers with a return trip will be allowed to use their return flight, even if they didn’t take their outbound flight, without any additional fees.