In a recent incident, a passenger flying with Ryanair was charged £75 for her suitcase allegedly not fitting the airline’s bag sizer, despite having paid extra for onboard luggage. The passenger, Gilly Bachelor, encountered this issue while traveling from Birmingham Airport to Malaga, Spain, and was stopped at the boarding gate.
Although Gilly had purchased priority boarding and the two cabin bags option, she claims she was told she couldn’t bring her bag onboard and was forced to pay the additional fee. This unexpected charge of £75, on top of the £125 flight cost, left her feeling stressed during the boarding process.
Gilly, a 55-year-old travel agency owner from Brewood, near Cannock, Staffs, expressed her frustration, stating, “I’ve taken that bag on lots of flights with no problem, just not Ryanair.” She recounted how a staff member checked each bag at the boarding gate, identifying issues with her suitcase’s wheels being slightly too wide.
According to Gilly, around 20 other passengers were also fined for oversized bags by Ryanair staff, leading her to believe that the airline enforces strict rules to generate additional revenue. She mentioned, “Ryanair is a very low-cost airline, so they operate to tight margins and will generate extra revenue wherever they can.”
Gilly highlighted that she discovered Ryanair staff receive incentives for flagging oversized bags, which, although a small portion of the fine, encourages strict enforcement of the rules. She advised fellow travelers to carefully check size regulations and invest in compliant luggage to avoid last-minute fines at the gate.
When reached out for a statement, Ryanair has yet to respond to inquiries from The Mirror regarding this incident.
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