Easter and maxi bridges

Ryanair and Ita flights: news on baggage, delays and penalties (and how to defend yourself)

Practical survival guide for air travellers at Easter: all the changes introduced by airlines, with advice from lawyers

by Enrico Marro

12 April 2025

4' min read

Key points

Ryanair delay refunds in Irish court
What to do if the app doesn't work
Hand luggage Ita

4' min read

There is a lot of news for those flying in these weeks of maxi-bridges: Ita Airways recently changed its policies on themaximum weight of hand luggage while the Supreme Court ruled in Ryanair's favour on the clause assigning cases on delay refunds to the Irish judge.

The revolution of Ryanair's farewell to paper boarding passes has been postponed until 3 November .

But let's see in order what changes and what to do in case of problems.

Ryanair delay refunds in Irish court

Starting with Ryanair, the recent ruling by the Supreme Court is very important: in the case of a claim for reimbursement for delayed flights, the clause assigning cases to the Irish court applies.

The exception to the jurisdiction rules is possible if the passenger, when purchasing the ticket online, checked the box using the point and click system.

The Joint Sections, in their judgment 8802/2025, thus dismissed the appeal of a couple requesting €517 in compensation from Ryanair.

Ryanair and paper check-in

Ryanair will also do away completely with paper boarding passes. The revolution was supposed to start on 1 May, but recently the company announced the postponement of the farewell to the paper until 3 November. From that date, passengers will have to use the digital version via the company's official app.

In addition, those who turn up without a digital boarding pass will have to pay a penalty (the 'reprint fee') of up to EUR 35.

What to do if the app does not work

But what if the app does not work or the digital check-in procedures are interrupted due to technical problems before the boarding pass is generated?

"The most important thing is to preserve the documentation of the disservice suffered," explains Piero Armetta, a lawyer expert in transport law and co-founder of RimborsamiTu (a company set up in 2016 that offers free assistance for refunds to passengers affected by disservices, with over 300,000 files handled), "this is aessential step for the purposes of filing a claim: therefore it is essential to keep screenshots of malfunctions, emails or payment receipts".

The 'traps' at the airport

"Faced with reports of inefficiencies on sites and apps, in fact, via chat Ryanair's customer service often indicates to carry out the procedure at the airport, without however clarifying that it is chargeable", Armetta continues.

"Despite the obvious responsibility for the malfunctions being borne by the airlines, passengers thus find themselves obliged to incur additional charges to check in at the airport, on pain of being denied boarding on the flight".

"In these cases direct complaints from passengers are rejected with standardised formulas: real unfair commercial practices," Armetta emphasises, "that bring companies unfair profits because not infrequently the sums charged to passengers are higher than the cost of the ticket itself.

Hand luggage Ita

Let's take a look at what's new in terms of cabin baggage. Ita Airways allows only one cabin bag with dimensions 55x35x25 cm. Since March, however, a weight restriction has come into effect: each bag or backpack must not exceed 8 kilograms.

In addition, it is possible to carry an additional accessory (such as a bag or laptop) with a maximum size of 36x45x20 cm to be placed under the seat.

If the flight is full, the airline may check some luggage into the hold free of charge.

Ryanair hand luggage

As for Ryanair, each passenger may carry only one personal bag measuring 40x20x25 cm to be stowed under the seat free of charge.

To take a trolley bag (55x40x20 cm) with you, you must purchase the Priority Boarding option, which costs between 6 and 30 euros, otherwise your luggage will be checked in at an additional cost of up to 70 euros.

Easyjet hand luggage

ForeasyJet, however, there is nothing new: each passenger may only take one piece of hand luggage measuring 45x36x20 cm (maximum weight 15 kg).

For larger luggage (56x45x25 cm, 15 kg maximum), you must select the fee option during the booking process.

Beware of hidden costs

Passengers are also protected by legislation when it comes to backpacks and trolleys: in 2014 a ruling by the European Court of Justice ruled that hand luggage that complies with 'reasonable' size and weight requirements is an essential part of air travel and should therefore not be subject to a surcharge.

"The Court has in fact decided that passengers should not have to pay extra, but the decision has never been enforced - explains Andrea Giordano, a lawyer specialised in transport law and himself co-founder of RimborsamiTu - . So airlines change at will the permitted luggage sizes on board and in the hold, putting travellers who have connections with different carriers at a disadvantage'.

A practice that can generate hidden costs when a passenger uses several carriers for a journey.

The Valencia ruling against Ryanair

It is no coincidence that recently in Spain the court of Valencia condemned Ryanair to repay EUR 46 to a passenger for paying a supplement related to hand luggage, which slightly exceeded the dimensions allowed by the company, Giordano points out.

"Even for luggage-related disruptions the advice is always to keep all receipts that can prove the unfair charge," the lawyer explains. In cases of lost, damaged or delayed baggage delivery, it is then necessary to go to the appropriate airport offices for the compilation of the PIR (Property Irregularity Report), a unique code that allows the baggage to be located if it is delivered late or damaged".