It was reported yesterday, 31st May 2009, in the Sunday Sun that a man returning from Alicante Airport was unfairly charged 18 euros for excess hand baggage. The problem was that this luggage wasn’t his.

The couple from Hartlepool were returning from Alicante with the respected holiday company Thomson. When they approached the check in desk, which was extremely busy, the check in operator refused to double check their hand luggage and insisted that they pay 18 euros. The couple reluctanctly paid the 18 euros.

When they checked their receipt later they realised they had been given a “receipt for the wrong luggage”.

Thomson rules state that every passenger is entitled to a free hand luggage allowance of 5 kg each and if any passenger is over this limit then they will have to pay a fine.

The Sunday Sun newspaper were able to clarify the situation to thomson and they refunded the couples 18 euros. 

The couple were confident of their rights because they had weighed their hand luggage at the hotel and they knew that the airline was wrong.  They were also aware of Thomsons terms and conditions and therefore knew they were in the right which gave them the confidence to follow their claim through.

The moral of the story. Always make sure that before you leave for the airport that you weigh all your peices of luggage and you know what you airlines terms and conditions are. Then if you are faced with excess charges you can be confident of whether you have a claim or not.

For more information on Alicante please see our main site.

Further information can be accessed at the SundaySun online newspaper.