IATA
An IATA photo shows the size of a bag that fits the new proposed size guidelines.
The airlines want to shrink the size of your carry-on bag but Rep. Steve Cohen is fighting back.
Last week the International Air Transport Association [IATA] proposed reducing the size of passengers’ carry-on luggage by 21 percent. So far, eight airlines have adopted the new guidelines.
Monday night Cohen introduced the Carry-On Freedom Act to block the proposal. The law would block any airline that charges passengers for checked baggage to reduce the size of carry-ons. Cohen said airlines are squeezing passengers “physically and fiscally” and that the new proposal was a “step too far.”
“It is a transparent attempt to squeeze even more money out of passengers by forcing them to pay baggage fees to check luggage they purchased specifically to avoid those fees,” Cohen said in a statement. “The new proposed carry-on size limits should not be allowed to go into effect, especially at a time when the airlines are already making huge profits.”
IATA said the new bag size proposal – called the Cabin OK initiative – would make things easier on passengers and that the move “aims to provide passengers with a greater assurance that their carry-on bags will travel with them in the aircraft cabin, even when the flight is full.”
