Federal Court lifts new checked baggage charges in Brazil

A Federal Court in São Paulo yesterday (March 13) granted an injunction against a new regulation authorizing airlines to charge fees for checked baggage. The ruling upheld a request from the Federal Prosecution Service (MPF) against a December 2016 National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) resolution allowing new baggage charges as of today (14).

In their case, the prosecutors argued “the charges violate consumer rights and will worsen lower-cost services provided by the airlines.”

Under the existing regulations, passengers are allowed to check items weighing a maximum 23 kilos (total) in domestic flights, or two 32-kilo items in international flights, free of additional charges. Hand luggage carried by passengers in the flight must not exceed 5 kilos.

But a new regulation introduced in December eliminated the checked baggage allowance, the MPF warned. The ticket fare would include only a 10-kilo hand luggage allowance, a limit that could be lowered “for security or aircraft capacity reasons.”

The Federal Prosecution Service argued that ANAC changed its baggage policy regulations without considering Brazil's market structure or the impact of the measure on lower-income passengers. In addition, an inquiry conducted by the MPF found that “the purpose of the new rules is to increase profits for airlines, which will reduce the quality of lower-cost services already covered by the airfare, and enhance more expensive packages to encourage consumers to buy them.”

Translated by Mayra Borges