I was recently charged €60 (£49.95) when I was caught out by Ryanair’s baggage policy. However, my charge did not come from an overly large bag as they usually do, but because I had a water bottle. The Irish airline is known for offering some of the lowest prices when it comes to travelling abroad. However, it also has a reputation for ridiculous extra charges. Many of those are slapped on customers who are judged to have breached their luggage allowance at the boarding gate. It was this kind that I was the victim of on a recent trip to Dublin.
One quick search on social media will show you the extent of the bag charge and just how many people get hit with it. I took a few days off to see some friends in the Irish capital. As it was a short trip, I opted to use my backpack and booked myself a "non-priority" ticket. This would allow me to bring one "small" bag onto the flight - that would fit under the chair in front of me - with dimensions of 40 x 20 x 25cm. Overall, the tickets both ways set me back £35.86 - properly cheap and cheerful.
Have you fallen foul of Ryanair's rules? Email webtravel@reachplc.com. Last year, I purchased a backpack on Amazon that fit the airline's specific dimensions and have used it on multiple trips, never having an issue. So I planned to use the bag again without a second thought. At 5.30am on Saturday, February 1, my boarding pass was seamlessly scanned at Stansted Airport by Ryanair gate staff and I sauntered down the long corridor to my flight - backpack on my back and water bottle tied to the top handle. Looking back, I wish this had not been the case, considering what I was about to experience a mere three days later.
On my way back from Dublin, nursing a sore throat that made me sound like I had been smoking 30 cigarettes a day for the last twenty years, I reached the gate for my Stansted flight at 12.05pm. The gate closed at 11.30am, and as I had an aisle seat and just a backpack, I waited to walk through until around 20 past. As I approached the gate, my passport and boarding pass were scanned, and as I took the next step forward, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
“You need to put your bag in here,” says the Ryanair staff member as she tapped the box. I did what she asked, placing the bag in. With a little shove, it fit. After pulling it back onto my shoulder, the staff member sharply pointed to the water bottle hanging in a strap across my body, stating: "That will need to go in the bag.". I croakily asked if that was necessary, as I didn’t need to do that on my incoming flight. She responded by saying that I needed to have all extras inside my bag when going on the flight and ushered me back to the departure seats. At this point, I started to get a little flustered and anxiously fumbled to get the 750ml metal bottle into my bag.
I was one of a handful of other passengers who had been pulled aside by the Ryanair crew and were desperately trying to repack. After moving a few bits around and shoving the bottle in, my bag now had a giant growth-like lump on the top right-hand corner as the zip did its best to stay closed. I walked to the gate again and was made to rescan my boarding pass. As I stepped forward, another Ryanair staff member jabbered, "That bag is too big. You'll need to go over there and pay to get on the flight.".
Thrown by the statement, I asked them why I couldn't take the bottle in my hand as I did on my outgoing flight. I began to feel like a problematic customer. In response, I was told that the water bottle needed to fit into the bag; otherwise, it would be classed as a "second bag", which was not allowed with my ticket. Stunned into complete confusion, I asked again, emphasising the word "water bottle".
The shock came as I watched other backpack passengers holding laptops, Burger King bags and travel pillows pass through without a hitch. At this point, I definitely became a difficult customer - the kind you would've seen on the 1990s show Airline. But I couldn't get my head around it. The other flyers flagged by Ryanair staff also tried to argue their case, with many mirroring my own excuse of "I flew here with the bag like this, why can't I fly back?" Each discussion consisted of a lot of hand flailing, a lot of eye-rolling, the word "dimensions" repeated over and over, and a lot of pointing - specifically to the fella with the debit card holder at the other end of the gate who sheepishly waved us over.
Ryanair officially closed the gate for our flight, and, at this point, I was in a state of panic. I'd never missed a flight before. Well, actually, I'd never been told I wasn't allowed on a flight by airstaff before. "What am I supposed to do?" I asked in desperation. "You'll have to pay for it either way," one staff member said, "out, it's a second bag and in, the bags too big, so you'll need to pay.".
At this point, the plane was set to leave in 15 minutes, and I was not in my seat. So I drifted over to the fella with the card, paid €60, and was tagged with the yellow sticker of shame on my backpack. The sticker was given to the flyers who had not meticulously studied Ryanair's baggage rules and had messed up or blatantly ignored them. I counted at least four on this flight so, if they were all charged €60 then Ryanair made at least an extra £200 from us.
