warning

easyJet boss has hit out at a new rule expected to come into force

Passengers flying within Europe could soon see a significant shift in baggage rules, and travellers are being put on notice.

At present, those travelling on basic fares with easyJet, as well as with Ryanair, are restricted to one small personal item, with any extra luggage attracting additional fees. Following changes to EU regulations, Ryanair was required to enlarge the maximum dimensions of its personal bags last year. The revised rules permit passengers to carry hand luggage measuring up to 40 x 30 x 20cm, a 20% boost from the former 40 x 20 x 25cm restriction.

easyJet’s personal bag specifications already complied with these requirements, meaning no adjustment was necessary. And now further EU regulatory shifts could enable travellers to bring both a cabin bag measuring up to 100cm and a personal bag without incurring additional charges.

In February, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to grant all passengers the entitlement to carry a small case in addition to the complimentary under-seat bags currently allowed. The Parliament’s proposal would give passengers the right to bring on board, at no extra charge, one personal item (such as a handbag, rucksack or laptop) and one small piece of hand luggage with maximum combined dimensions of 100cm (length, width and height) and weighing up to seven kilos.

The proposed reforms, which must receive approval from the European Council before becoming law, would apply to all travellers flying to or from an EU airport on an EU-based airline. This directly affects the overwhelming majority of short-haul flights departing from the UK.

While this may seem like a positive development for passengers, easyJet has slammed the proposals to enforce free additional baggage as a “lunatic idea”. Chief executive Kenton Jarvis insisted that granting all passengers the right to extra free carry-on luggage would be “crazy” and “terrible for the consumer”.

The easyJet boss described it as “politicians completely not understanding their subject and getting involved with things they shouldn’t”, adding: “There just isn’t the space in the cabin, so that’s another lunatic idea. We would go back to the days of having to offload cabin bags and put them in the hold – it was one of the number one causes of delayed boarding in the old days.”

Baggage fees accounted for a significant portion of easyJet’s more than £2.5bn in annual income from extras, or ancillary revenue, “and that would have to be passed on” through increased fares for all passengers, he warned.

Flight FR9251 was forced to land in Toulouse with almost 200 people on board

Ryanair has issued a ‘no fly’ warning following an incident in which a plane carrying nearly 200 passengers was forced to make an emergency diversion. The disruption took place aboard a flight from London Stansted to Ibiza.

Flight FR9251 was diverted to Toulouse after two passengers turned ‘abusive towards fellow passengers’. The incident unfolded on 17 May 2025, with the case only recently being settled in court.

In an online statement headed ‘Bad behaviour won’t fly’, the budget carrier said: “On May 17 2025, two passengers became abusive towards fellow passengers on a flight from London Stansted to Ibiza and failed to comply with crew instructions, forcing over 84 passengers and six crew to divert to Toulouse.

“These two disruptive passengers were found guilty, and both received suspended sentences of up to 10 months, and received a combined penalty of over 10,000 Euros.

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“On May 7, 2026, Ryanair welcomed the decision by the Toulouse Criminal Court to convict these two unruly passengers. Ryanair has a strict zero-tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take action to combat unruly passenger behavior on aircraft for the benefit of the vast majority of passengers who do not disrupt flights.”

Under the Air Navigation Order 2016, a person ‘must not enter any aircraft when drunk, or be drunk in any aircraft’. It goes on to state: “A person must not, when acting as a member of the crew of any aircraft or being carried in any aircraft for the purpose of acting as a member of the crew, be under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to impair their capacity so to act.”, reports Glasgow Live.

Addressing the incident on board, Ryanair’s Jade Kirwan said: “We welcome this decision by the Toulouse Criminal Court to convict these two disruptive passengers and sentence them with up to 10 months jail time and to pay a penalty of over €10,000.

“It is unacceptable that passengers – many of whom are heading away with family or friends to enjoy a relaxing summer holiday – suffer unnecessary disruption and reduced holiday time as a result of unruly passenger behaviour.

“Yet this was regrettably the case for passengers on this flight from Stansted to Ibiza in May last year, which was forced to divert to Toulouse as a result of two passenger’s disruptive behaviour.

“This conviction demonstrates just one of the many consequences that passengers who disrupt flights will face as part of Ryanair’s zero tolerance policy, and we hope this action will deter further disruptive behaviour on flights so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment.”