The short answer
On 13 July 2026, the Council of the EU gave final clearance to updated air-passenger-rights rules. The Council says air fares must display the allowance for a piece of hand baggage by default before the booking process begins, making airline prices easier to compare.
What is confirmed
- The hand-baggage allowance must be visible in the fare before booking begins.
- The reform enters into force 12 months and 20 days after publication in the Official Journal.
- Airline-specific dimensions, weight limits and fare entitlements still matter.
Where 40 × 30 × 15 cm comes from
The 40 × 30 × 15 cm figure is a common guaranteed personal-item baseline associated with major European airline members of Airlines for Europe (A4E). It is useful when shopping for a broadly compatible underseat bag, but it is not the same thing as a universal free-overhead-trolley rule.
| Claim | Accurate reading |
|---|---|
| “Every EU flight gets a free trolley” | No. Check the fare’s overhead entitlement. |
| “40 × 30 × 15 cm is a useful baseline” | Yes. Many major European carriers meet or exceed it. |
| “Baggage must be clearer before purchase” | Yes. This is expressly stated in the adopted reform summary. |
| “All airlines use one weight limit” | No. Weight rules remain airline-specific. |
What travellers should do now
Use the rules in force for the operating airline and exact fare today. For a 2027 departure, check again after booking and shortly before flying. BagFit EU shows both the dataset verification date and a direct link to the airline source.
Coverage of the EU reform
The Council states that the updated passenger-rights framework covers flights within the EU, departures from the EU, and arrivals into the EU operated by an EU airline. A route can therefore matter, especially when a non-EU carrier operates a flight into the EU.