Airlines can charge extra for checked-in baggage

Hopes that extra charges for checked-in baggage for airline passengers might be declared illegal have been dashed by the European Court of Justice.

But they have said that airlines cannot charge extra for luggage carried on board by the passenger, provided it is of reasonable weight and dimensions.

Spanish law bans air carriers charging extra for checked-in baggage, and Vueling, the Spanish low-cost airline, was fined €3,000 for charging a passenger €40 for two cases.