Airline Baggage Fees in Europe Compared (2026)

Airline Baggage Fees in Europe, Compared for 2026

Your €19 fare quietly becomes €79 the moment a gate agent points at your backpack and nods towards the metal sizer. That is not bad luck, it is the business model. The saving grace is that baggage fees are the most predictable travel cost there is, published in advance and decided at home with a tape measure. Here is what the nine main European carriers charge for the free personal item, the 10 kg cabin trolley and the 20 kg checked bag.

Fares move faster than fees, so check who is cheapest on your route first.

Europe’s Baggage Fees at a Glance

The table below holds the typical one-way fare, what you carry for free, and what the two paid bags cost online. Airport and gate prices are always higher.

Two patterns jump out. The airlines with the cheapest fares (Ryanair and Wizz Air, roughly €15–60 one way) have the smallest free allowance, so the ranking flips the moment you add luggage. And the spread on checked bags is enormous: around €5 on Pegasus against €60 on Ryanair for the identical 20 kg. Our best budget airlines in Europe guide ranks the same carriers on fares and punctuality.

The Free Personal Item, Airline by Airline

Every European low-cost carrier includes one free under-seat bag on its cheapest fare, but a bag that is legal on one airline is a €50 problem on another.

• easyJet: 45×36×20 cm, up to 15 kg, the most generous in Europe. Handles and wheels count.
• Eurowings: 40×30×25 cm, five extra centimetres of depth that suit a soft duffel.
• Ryanair, Wizz Air, Vueling, Transavia, Volotea: 40×30×20 cm. Transavia caps it at 10 kg and adds an umbrella, walking stick and duty-free bag.
• Norwegian: one under-seat bag up to 10 kg, dimensions varying by aircraft.
• Pegasus: 40×30×15 cm and a strict 3 kg on the Light bundle since 14 February 2026.

Ryanair moved the other way, raising its free bag to 40×30×20 cm on 4 September 2025, and the reason is regulatory. On 7 July 2026 the European Parliament voted 646 to 12 to guarantee a free personal item of at least 40×30×15 cm and to make airlines and booking sites display the fare inclusive of it. The catch is timing: those rules apply from 2027, and they leave fees for larger wheeled bags in place.

Cabin Bag (10 kg Trolley) Fees Compared

Nobody includes the wheeled cabin bag on a basic fare in 2026, so you either buy it as an add-on or buy a bundle containing it.

The costliest mistake is Volotea, where the standalone 10 kg bag runs roughly €65 per passenger per flight and the Plus fare that includes it usually costs far less than that gap. On Vueling, Transavia, Eurowings and Norwegian the bundle beats the à la carte price often enough that you should price both. Ryanair and easyJet are the exceptions where the add-on is genuinely cheap, provided you buy at booking. For the three-way detail, see our Ryanair vs Wizz Air vs easyJet comparison .

Checked Bag Fees Compared

Hold luggage is where the airlines diverge most, and where booking online instead of at the airport saves the most.

• Pegasus: around €5–15 online, up to 40% cheaper than at the airport.
• Vueling: around €14 online for 20 kg (a €10–18 band across the 15, 20 and 25 kg tiers), from about €50 at the airport.
• Volotea: around €10–25 online when booked well ahead.
• Eurowings: around €19–23 for 23 kg, or around €17 for 12 kg. A second bag can hit €75.
• Wizz Air: around €20–35 for 20 kg, with 10 kg, 26 kg and 32 kg tiers either side.
• Ryanair: around €20–60 online, rising towards €75 at the airport.
• Transavia: around €36 online, and €70–80 at the airport.
• easyJet: sold in 15 kg and 23 kg tiers, from about €11 to roughly €58 online.

The airport premium is the honest headline: Vueling roughly triples, Transavia roughly doubles, and both Vueling and Volotea charge €12 per kilo of excess weight up to 32 kg per bag.

The Gate Trap

Gate fees are charged per bag, per flight, by card only, and there is no negotiating.

• Ryanair: around €45–70, commonly cited at €60–70.
• Wizz Air: around €40–65 for a bag that fails the sizer or an unpaid trolley.
• easyJet: roughly €48–55, and the bag then travels in the hold.
• Pegasus: around €50 per extra or oversized piece on international flights.
• Transavia: a Gate Luggage Fee from around €70.
• Vueling: €60–75 for an oversized personal item, €110–140 for a cabin bag over 55×40×20 cm.

Ryanair’s enforcement deserves a mention. Since November 2025 it has paid gate staff around €2.50 for every oversized bag they intercept, with no monthly cap, which is exactly the incentive you would design if you wanted the sizer used on every passenger. Measure your bag packed, wheels and handles included.

The Cheapest Airline With a Bag: Three Scenarios

Backpack only. If it fits 40×30×20 cm, Ryanair and Wizz Air win on fare alone at €15–60 one way. If your backpack is slightly bigger, easyJet is the only carrier flying 45×36×20 cm and 15 kg free, worth €45–70 in avoided gate fees anywhere else.

Backpack plus a 10 kg trolley. Ryanair from around €6 at booking and easyJet from around €7 are cheapest, Transavia (from around €13) and Eurowings (€18–21) sit in the middle, and Volotea at roughly €65 without a bundle is the one to avoid.

Backpack plus a 20 kg checked bag. Pegasus at around €5–15 and Vueling at around €10–18 win, with Volotea at €10–25 behind. Ryanair’s €20–60 band means the same suitcase can cost three times more on a peak route, which our Ryanair vs easyJet cost comparison shows can flip the cheaper airline.

How to Dodge Baggage Fees Entirely

1. Buy a bag matching the strictest airline you fly. A 40×30×20 cm soft bag is legal on eight of the nine carriers here. Pegasus Light is the exception.
2. Measure packed, with wheels and handles. A bulging front pocket is what usually fails the sizer.
3. Buy the bundle, not the add-on. On Vueling, Transavia, Eurowings, Norwegian and Volotea the fare including a bag routinely costs less than adding one later.
4. Never add luggage at the airport. Airport prices run two to three times the online price, gate prices two to four times.
5. Compare the all-in total, not the fare, using the method in our guide to finding cheap flights .

The rules are tightening, not loosening. Spain’s consumer ministry fined five low-cost carriers a combined €179m in November 2024 over cabin-bag charges (Ryanair €107.78m, Vueling €39.2m, easyJet €29m, Norwegian and Volotea just over €1m each) and upheld it on appeal, and the case was still unresolved in mid-2026. If Wizz Air is on your shortlist, our Wizz Air review covers how its Priority bundle prices in practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which European airline has the lowest baggage fees?

It depends which bag you carry. easyJet has the largest free under-seat bag at 45×36×20 cm and up to 15 kg, so a bigger backpack flies free where rivals would charge. For a checked 20 kg bag, Pegasus (around €5–15 online) and Vueling (around €10–18) are cheapest, against Ryanair’s much wider €20–60.

Is a cabin bag free on any European budget airline?

Not on a basic fare. Every major European low-cost carrier sells the 10 kg overhead trolley as an add-on or inside a bundle, and it comes included on Vueling Optima, Transavia Smart, Eurowings SMART, Norwegian LowFare+, Volotea Plus and Pegasus Essentials. Buying the fare that already contains it is usually cheaper than adding it later.

How strict is Ryanair about bag size?

Very strict, and it has a financial reason to be. Ryanair raised its free under-seat allowance from 40×30×15 cm to 40×30×20 cm on 4 September 2025, and since November 2025 it pays gate staff around €2.50 for every oversized bag they catch, with no monthly cap. Measure with wheels and handles included, because those count.

What happens at the gate if my bag is too big?

Staff move the bag into the hold and charge you on the spot, usually by card only. Expect around €45–70 on Ryanair, €40–65 on Wizz Air, €48–55 on easyJet, about €50 on Pegasus and from around €70 on Transavia. Vueling is harshest at €60–75 for an oversized personal item and €110–140 for a cabin bag above 55×40×20 cm.

What size is the free under-seat bag on European airlines?

40×30×20 cm is the standard, used by Ryanair, Wizz Air, Vueling, Transavia and Volotea. easyJet is more generous at 45×36×20 cm and up to 15 kg, Eurowings allows 40×30×25 cm, and Pegasus cut its Light fare allowance to 40×30×15 cm and 3 kg on 14 February 2026.

Will cabin bags be free in Europe from 2027?

Only the small personal item. The European Parliament voted 646 to 12 on 7 July 2026 to guarantee a free carry-on of at least 40×30×15 cm and to make airlines and booking sites show the fare including that item. Fees for larger wheeled cabin bags stay legal, and the rules apply from 2027 rather than now.

Price Your Real Total Before You Book

The cheapest airline in Europe is whichever one is cheapest once your bag is on the ticket, and that changes with every route, date and suitcase. Measure your bag tonight, pick your scenario, then compare fares with the bag cost already added.