Easyjet criticised for using incorrect bag sizers in French airports

Easyjet customers in France have complained that the company has falsely measured their carry-on baggage, forcing them to either pay more to place it in the hold or leave it behind at the airport.

One frequent flyer, Pauline, reported that she has twice flown from Nantes to Nice recently, and while her luggage was accepted in the cabin on the outbound journey, it was refused at Nice Airport on the return.

This is because of the baggage sizer used at Nice Airport, she told French consumer association 60 Millions de consommateurs.

A baggage sizer is the box that customers are asked to place their luggage in to ensure it meets the airline’s size requirements – an example of one used by Easyjet is shown in the picture above. Easyjet requires cabin bags to be a maximum of 45 x 36 x 20 cm.

Pauline told the consumers’ group that the ones used in Nice Airport have been made smaller using two metal bars at the side.

She said that when she discovered for the second time that her luggage did not fit in the sizer, despite fitting in Nantes, she asked Easyjet staff for a tape measurer to prove her suitcase was the right size.

She said she was told by staff that the airport was “not a DIY shop”. Pauline ended up leaving her suitcase in Nice and carrying her belongings in a bag. Other passengers on the flight paid an extra €29 to place their bags in the hold.

60 Millions de consommateurs contacted Easyjet about this issue and two other similar incidents, and was told that the company could not respond without the customers’ reference numbers.

They were told the customers could complain directly to the airline, which Pauline has done, and is still awaiting a response.

Two other Easyjet customers complained online about the same issue.

One, Arnaud Müller, said that his luggage which was accepted in the cabin for the outward journey with Easyjet was refused in Nice Airport due to a different baggage sizer being used.

He said he had to pay a fee to put his luggage in the hold, even though there was space in the cabin for it.

Another passenger, Mickaël Gallais, posted a similar story, this time saying that he had measured his baggage before the flight to ensure it fitted in the 45 x 36 x 20 cm size requirement, but found it did not fit in the sizer at Paris’ Orly Airport. He said he had to pay a fee of €29 to put it in the hold.

Update, March 8: The original article has been updated to include the maximum size that Easyjet accepts for carry-on luggage.

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