The proposal does not include free carry-on baggage on international travel and prohibits companies from canceling the return flight when the consumer does not board the outbound flight
The Chamber of the Chamber approved the bill on Tuesday 28th which provides for the free transport of hand luggage up to 12 kilos on national flights. Voting on the text in the Chamber, parliamentarians approved a series of amendments that gave new impetus to the text, which now also provides for free check-in of baggage up to 23 kilos on international and national flights; the ban on canceling the return flight when the consumer does not board the outward flight; and prohibit additional charges for standard seat assignments on routes.
At the end of the vote, the point that motivated the discussion of the topic in the Chamber – the tax on hand luggage on international flights – was the main point to be excluded from the project. The other changes approved by the deputies apply both to domestic flights and to routes to other countries.
The final text was created by the rapporteur Neto Carletto (Avante-BA) and was approved with a symbolic vote, with the new party voting against. The text now passes to the Senate. At the end of the votes, the president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), specified that the approval was a “clear message” that the Chamber “will not allow abuses against Brazilian consumers”.
Motta cited the “oligopoly” of airlines and specified that the Chamber has made it clear that it “does not agree” not only with the hand baggage pricing, but also with former president Jair Bolsonaro’s veto on the free check-in of bags up to 23 kilos, which had not been analyzed in a session of the National Congress for years.
The MP also cited “messages” about charging for checked baggage, about canceling return tickets in case of failure to board on the outward journey and also about seats. “It is a message that we will not accept increasing costs in a reality where Brazilians cannot bear to pay so much for tickets,” he said, underlining that he hopes for a quick analysis of the proposal by the Senate.
During the discussion in plenary, the parliamentarians first approved, with a symbolic vote, the replacement presented by the deputy by the rapporteur Neto Carletto (Avante-BA). The text provides that the passenger can, “subject to safety or capacity limitations”, carry a hand baggage weighing twelve kilograms in the baggage compartment of the cabin, but only on domestic flights.
As demonstrated by Estadaothe proposal represents a retreat from the text presented by MP Da Vitória (PP-ES), following the announcement by airlines on the pricing of hand luggage transport on international routes. The text initially concerned free flights both on national flights – which according to Carletto represent practically 80% of the number of Brazilian aviation passengers – and to other countries.
According to Carletto, the extension of free carriage of hand luggage to the international market “could raise questions about compliance with bilateral agreements and the reduction of the flight offer of low-cost airlines currently operating on significant routes from South America and Brazil”.
The parliamentarian even proposed, in one of the versions of his report, the resumption of free check-in of baggage up to 23 kilos on domestic flights. Carletto then argued that the restoration of free tickets is “a measure of justice and balance in relations with consumers, without compromising the economic sustainability of companies, since the costs can be absorbed into the overall value of the tickets”.
However, in the final opinion, the prediction was withdrawn. In the same version of the document, the deputy also included provisions on accessibility and the provision that airlines can suspend the carriage, for up to one year, “of passengers who have committed an act of indiscipline considered extremely serious”.
After voting on Carletto’s text, deputies began to analyze, in the form of salient points – a separate vote on specific parts of the project – a series of amendments that aimed to include changes in the project. Three changes were approved in this wave, which apply to both domestic and international flights:
- Ban on cancellation by airlines of the return flight when the consumer does not board the outward flight;
- Free check-in of luggage weighing up to 23 kilos on national or international flights operated within the national territory;
- Prohibition of additional charges for standard seat reservations by the passenger;
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
