Following Ryanair’s try and impose a baggage fee on passengers for carrying cakes onboard, the Balearic Islands government has invited the airline and the local association of pastry-makers for a gathering, in line with a report by The Guardian.
A dispute began when two passengers at Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) attempted to bring a standard Mallorcan pastry called ensaïmada together with their carry-on bags onboard Ryanair’s flight.
Nonetheless, the airline insisted on an additional charge of €45 (roughly $50) per pastry to permit them onboard. In response, passengers decided to desert the pastries relatively than pay the extra fee imposed by the low-cost carrier.
Defending local produce
After the reported controversy, the Balearics’ tourism minister Iago Negueruela said the meeting was called “with a purpose to defend local produce and avoid any sort of discrimination.”
Meanwhile, the president of the Balearic Islands pastry-makers association, Pep Magraner, raised a very important concern regarding the unequal treatment of suppliers. He identified that passengers are permitted to hold ensaïmadas purchased from the airport’s duty-free shop. Ensaïmada is a sweet pastry from the Balearic Islands, where it has been eaten because the seventeenth century.
Photo: frantic00/Shutterstock
“Consequently, the carriage of hand baggage can’t be made subject to a price complement, provided that it meets reasonable requirements by way of its weight and dimensions and complies with applicable security requirements,” in line with the court ruling.
Getting around carry-on baggage fees
At times, passengers try and evade additional charges for excess baggage and, because of this, occasionally are refused boarding their flights. Some silliest examples of getting around rules include passengers who wear too many extra layers of garments.
Back in 2015, a member of a boy band fainted during an easyJet flight from London to Glasgow. The incident occurred since the 19-year-old man had chosen to wear all his clothes on board with a purpose to evade the £45 excess baggage fee.
At Guanzhou Baiyun International Airport in China, a person faced the selection of paying an additional fee or reducing his luggage prior to boarding his flight to Nairobi. He decided to wear over 60 shirts and nine pairs of jeans to evade the extra charges.
Sources: The Guardian, CJEU