British Airways has ordered check-in staff to exercise discretion following today’s introduction of the new baggage allowances which could see passengers paying up to £240 for an second bag.
A spokeswoman said the airline was being sympathetic to passengers who may have been unaware of the changes while the period of grace would last until the end of September.
She said: “We were always going to do it this way; to have a slow introduction to make sure passengers are aware of the changes. Even so, it is a very small number, less than 2%, of passengers that the new rules effects.”
The changed rules mean from today passengers checking in a second bag will be charged £30 one way on domestic flights, £60 on European flights and £120 on most long-haul flights.
Until now passengers have been able to check in a second bag without charge provided they did not exceed weight restrictions. In a further move, BA has cut the baggage allowance on domestic services from 32kg to 23kg.