EU scraps plane hand luggage plan

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission scrapped plans on Monday to limit the size of hand luggage passengers may carry on planes, concluding the inconvenience would have outweighed any security benefits.

The decision means that airlines will continue to set their own restrictions on luggage size instead of being obliged by law to adhere to one norm across the 27-member bloc.

The rules were drawn up after British police foiled a suspected plot in August 2006 to blow up transatlantic airliners, and would have limited the size of bags brought on board planes to 56 cm by 45 cm by 25 cm.

"We must seek to balance security with passenger convenience," Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot said of limits initially due to take effect last May but delayed after airlines appealed for more time to prepare.

"In this case it is clear that the inconvenience of additional limits would outweigh the advance in security," Barrot said in a statement.

A number of airlines have already implemented the size limits, which follow a standard set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

(Reporting by Mark John, editing by Myra MacDonald)