Brussels, 24/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - European airports have made crystal clear their disappointment about the one-bag rule for cabin baggage being applied by some airlines, mainly low-cost airlines, and want the Council of Ministers and European Parliament to make improvements in the current process of revising air passenger rights.
The Airport Council International Europe, ACI Europe, made this clear at an event organised on 22 January at the European Parliament and attended by representatives of the European institutions and airport industry. The president of ACI Europe, Arnaud Feist, said that many airports face an unfair one-bag rule from airlines, which causes passengers stress, inconvenience and confusion and which prevents passengers from buying things at airports. “There is little doubt that this practice downgrades the travelling experience. It also threatens our ability to modernise and develop infrastructure through commercial revenues”. EP rapporteur on the review of air passenger rights, Georges Bach (EPP, Luxembourg), recognised the need to ban the one-bag rules, explaining: “My objective is to put the passenger at the centre of interest of this directive and to strengthen his/her rights when it comes to the application and implementation of European laws”. (MD/transl.fl)