Ryanair slashes free cabin baggage dimensions as part of European standardization

In a significant adjustment, Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost airline, announced that it will be cutting its free cabin baggage allowance, with changes set to take effect at the end of October 2025. Currently, passengers are allowed to bring onboard a bag with dimensions of 40 x 25 x 20cm without charge, offering a volume of 20 litres. However, from the upcoming winter aviation season, these dimensions will be modified to 40 x 30 x 15cm, which reduces the volume to just 18 litres, thus impacting how much passengers can carry for free. This change is part of a larger effort by the European Commission to promote standardization across all airlines in Europe, a move that has gained traction among various stakeholders in the aviation industry. Discussions have been ongoing between Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the European transport commissioner Adina Vălean about the need for streamlined baggage policies. The A4E has publicly asserted that all member airlines will implement guaranteed baggage dimensions by the end of the 2025 summer season. This alignment aims to provide clearer guidelines for passengers when flying within Europe, enhancing their travel experience. A key advocate for maintaining existing allowances, easyJet, confirmed that they would not be adopting the new dimensions and would keep their own current policies, which exceed the changes proposed by Ryanair. As it stands, Ryanair appears to be the only major airline that will adopt reduced dimensions, requiring recalibration of its airport sizing gauges. This will compel existing passengers who currently have the right-sized bags to purchase new luggage that complies with the updated requirements post-change. In contrast, carriers such as British Airways and Jet2 still offer cabin baggage allowances beyond these new standards, which hints at a potential market differentiation based on customer service-oriented policies. Further complicating the situation, the European Parliament has recently voted to mandate that all airlines enable passengers to carry two pieces of cabin baggage. Ryanair, along with other low-cost airlines such as easyJet and Wizz Air, have expressed strong opposition to this initiative, claiming that it would be impractical. Ryanair's ongoing changes come amid a recovery phase where they saw an increase in passenger numbers, carrying approximately 19.9 million people in June, rising 3% from the previous year.