Baggage regulations and costs at a glance: airline fees can be as high as 140 euros

• AirHelp conducts a survey among passengers and compares baggage regulations and prices of 25 international airlines.

• Almost half of the airlines surveyed charge fees for carry-on baggage.

• The prices for checked baggage vary by up to €123 depending on the airline, while the difference for additional baggage is up to €126.

16 December 2025 – For many travelers, luggage can quickly become a source of stress when flying. A recent survey by AirHelp shows that around 83 percent of Germans find the issue of luggage when traveling by air at least a bit stressful, and 62 percent find it confusing. 42 percent of those surveyed have had to pay additional fees at the airport because they did not understand the airlines' regulations. To give passengers a comprehensive overview, AirHelp supplemented its survey by analyzing the baggage regulations and prices of 25 international airlines – most of which are European airlines, with the exception of Turkish Airlines and Pegasus. The analysis shows how much baggage rules and costs can vary depending on the airline.

„Many travelers do not fully understand their airline's baggage policies—our survey shows this very clearly," says Nina Staub, passenger rights expert at AirHelp. "94 percent of respondents do not know their rights when it comes to baggage issues. 96 percent of Germans do not know the correct deadline for reporting damaged baggage. At the same time, 62 Percent even do not know that luggage issues are covered by passenger rights. We see a significant information deficit here.“

Hand luggage: Eleven of the 25 airlines analysed charge extra fees

Other airlines charge additional fees, some of which are considerable. Eurowings is the most expensive at €40.13 for one piece of hand luggage, followed by Wizz Air at €28 and Norwegian at €18. Finnair and the SAS Group charge €16 each.

When it comes to carry-on baggage sizes, British Airways, easyJet, and Jet 2 allow passengers to bring the most, with a volume of 63,000 cm³. This corresponds to a standard trolley bag. Condor, Volotea, TUI Airways, Pegasus, and Ryanair have the smallest allowable volume at 44,000 cm³, which corresponds to a size of 55 x 40 x 20 cm. Travelers should be sure to check their carry-on luggage before departure.

Checked baggage: This can be expensive even for the first piece of luggage

Checked baggage is a cause of concern for many travelers: two-thirds of Germans (66 percent) fear that their suitcase will be lost on flights. One-third (33 percent) have already experienced lost, damaged, or delayed luggage. 65 percent of travelers worry about weight restrictions, and more than half (54 percent) fear additional fees. But the real cost trap often lurks at the time of booking:

The prices for checked baggage (20–23 kg) vary greatly depending on the airline – the difference between the cheapest and most expensive airline is up to €123. On average, passengers pay around €38 for checked baggage. It is advisable to book baggage online in advance. The most expensive option for the first piece of checked baggage on short-haul flights is Turkish Airlines at €140. ITA Airways (€70) and British Airways (€50) are significantly cheaper. In the lower third are SAS Group, TAP Air Portugal, Air Europa, Lufthansa Group, and Air Dolomiti, each charging around €30. Passengers travel cheapest with Norwegian (€25), Volotea (€19), and the Turkish airline Pegasus Airlines (€17).

Excess baggage charges are calculated per bag or per kilogram, depending on the airline.

It can get really expensive if your luggage is heavier than allowed. The flat rates for excess baggage per piece of luggage vary widely between airlines. TAP Air Portugal is the most expensive at €110 per suitcase, followed by ITA Airways at €80. Air France–KLM and British Airways each charge €75 for excess baggage, while Finnair and SAS Group charge €65. The Lufthansa Group is slightly cheaper at €50 per additional piece of luggage. These prices apply to short-haul flights. Looking at long-haul flights, additional luggage with Tap Air Portugal can cost €235 – the highest price.

Most of the airlines surveyed do not charge per suitcase, but by weight. Jet 2 has the highest fees at £16 per additional kilogram, followed by easyJet, Norwegian and TUI Airways at £15 each. Ryanair and Wizz Air are in the middle of the price range (€13 each), ahead of Iberia and Eurowings with €12 per kilo. SunExpress charges only €10 per kilogram for additional baggage – one of the lowest fees among the airlines. Only Turkish Airlines (€7) and Pegasus Airlines (€5) are cheaper.

Long-haul vs. short-haul: Baggage significantly more expensive on long flights

The longer the flight, the more expensive the baggage: the comparison shows that many airlines charge significantly higher fees on long-haul flights than on short-haul flights. While the first piece of checked baggage (20–23 kg) usually costs between €30 and €40 on short-haul flights, airlines often charge over €70 on long-haul flights – on average, the fees are around €42 for short-haul flights and €76 for long-haul flights.

The difference is particularly striking in the case of Air Europa (+€70), ITA Airways (+€50), and SAS Group (+€47.73). TAP Air Portugal (+€45) and Finnair (+€43) also charge significantly more on longer routes. Only Eurowings and Turkish Airlines have almost identical prices for baggage on long-haul flights – here the difference is about €1 and €1.50 respectively. For the first piece of baggage, the costs vary by up to €70 per airline, and for the second piece by up to €95.

About the study

For the analysis, AirHelp evaluated the baggage regulations of 23 European airlines as well as Pegasus and Turkish Airlines, taking into account both short-haul and long-haul flights. To ensure comparability, we analysed short-haul flights of roughly two hours and long-haul flights of around ten hours, so that the underlying distances were broadly similar across airlines. Not all of the airlines examined offer long-haul connections – in these cases, comparisons were only made where both types of routes were available. Only online prices for checked baggage, additional baggage, hand luggage and excess baggage were examined. The survey took place in October 2025 and is based on publicly available information from the airlines and the prices at the time of booking for the respective routes. Prices may therefore differ from the official information provided by the airlines. All prices were rounded to the nearest euro. The aim of the study was to transparently highlight differences between airlines and show where travellers pay the most or the least for their luggage.

About the survey

To supplement the data collection, a survey of 1,000 participants in Germany was conducted to better understand passengers' experiences, concerns, and knowledge of baggage rules. The survey was conducted end of September 2025 via Pollfish.

About AirHelp

AirHelp is a travel tech company tackling flight disruptions. Since 2013, it has won compensation for over 3 million passengers with a flight delay or cancellation. 12 million passengers have protected their flights with AirHelp+ Protection, and countless millions more benefit from the expert information freely available on airhelp.com. AirHelp has also just released its new app, which offers real-time flight tracking, disruption alerts, and options for extra protection, download it here!

AirHelp is dedicated to investing in a greener future - it has pledged to plant 1 tree for every 100 flight disruptions and so far, it has planted 183,988 trees. As air passenger rights advocates, AirHelp cares about people, and caring about people also means caring about the planet.

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