Flying Ryanair this summer? Your cabin bag could cost you €75 at the gate

Anyone flying with Ryanair soon may want to check their cabin bag twice before heading to the airport.

The airline’s boss Michael O’Leary has confirmed that staff who catch passengers travelling with oversized luggage could soon receive bigger bonuses for flagging them at boarding gates. According to comments made to The Times, the payment per bag is expected to rise from around €2.50 to roughly €3.50.

For passengers though, the amount that really hurts is not the staff bonus.

It is the fee waiting at the gate.

Travellers whose bags fail the size check can end up paying as much as €75, sometimes because the wheels stick out slightly or because the bag is a little too full to fit inside the measuring frame.

And with airports preparing for another extremely busy summer across Europe, plenty of passengers are likely to discover just how strict those checks can be.

Ryanair says too many people still try to bring oversized bags onboard

Anyone who flies Ryanair regularly already knows the routine.

People arrive at the gate nervously trying to squeeze bags into metal luggage sizers while staff watch closely nearby. Sometimes it fits perfectly. Sometimes it does not. And when it does not, arguments often start immediately.

According to Michael O’Leary, the airline wants fewer passengers turning up with oversized cabin bags in the first place.

‘If you show up at the boarding gate with a bag that doesn’t fit in the sizer, you have to pay,’ he told The Times.

From Ryanair’s point of view, the rules are simple. Passengers are told the exact dimensions allowed before travelling and the company argues that strict baggage controls help keep boarding moving quickly while also preventing fights over overhead locker space. But plenty of travellers feel differently.

Complaints about baggage fees became one of the biggest frustrations linked to low cost flying in Europe. Social media is full of videos showing passengers being stopped at boarding gates over bags that appear only slightly larger than allowed.

Some people accuse airlines of becoming excessively strict. Others argue passengers knowingly ignore the rules and then complain afterwards when caught.

Either way, baggage checks became one of the most stressful parts of budget travel for many people. Especially because the extra charges can be far higher than the original flight itself.

Cheap tickets often become expensive surprisingly fast

Low fares are what attract people to airlines like Ryanair in the first place.

A €20 or €30 flight looks incredibly appealing when booking a trip across Europe. But by the time passengers add luggage, choose seats or pay airport extras, the final cost often looks very different.

That is not unique to Ryanair.

Low cost airlines increasingly rely on additional services to generate revenue. Checked luggage, priority boarding, reserved seating and onboard purchases all became major parts of the business model over the years.

Cabin baggage is particularly important because space onboard aircraft is limited.

Airlines know many passengers try avoiding extra fees by squeezing larger bags into cabin allowance limits. That is why boarding gate checks became far more common than they used to be.

And Ryanair is not the only airline reportedly rewarding staff for catching oversized luggage.

Last year, British media reported that EasyJet also offered incentives to Swissport staff supervising boarding. The reported payment there was smaller, around £1.20 per oversized bag identified, although passengers could still face charges of roughly £48.

The difference with Ryanair is that Michael O’Leary tends to speak very openly about these things.

For years, the Ryanair chief executive built a reputation for deliberately provocative comments, especially around baggage rules and passenger complaints. Some travellers find it amusing. Others find it exhausting.

But it keeps the airline in headlines constantly.

Passengers are being told not to assume airlines will be flexible

One reason people still get caught out is because baggage rules changed gradually over time.

A cabin suitcase bought years ago may no longer fit current airline requirements. Some travellers also assume that because a bag was accepted on one airline, it will automatically be fine on another.

That often turns out to be wrong and even small differences matter.

A handle sticking out slightly, rigid wheels or an overpacked soft bag can sometimes be enough to fail the size check. And once passengers reach the boarding gate, there is usually very little room for negotiation.

Summer may make the situation even stricter. Airports across Europe are expecting another huge travel season, and airlines typically try to speed up boarding wherever possible during busy months. Faster boarding means fewer delays and fewer problems fitting luggage into overhead lockers.

For passengers, though, it also means staff are unlikely to overlook oversized bags very often.

Which is why many experienced travellers now measure bags carefully before flying, even when they think they already know the rules. Because with budget airlines, the cheapest part of the trip is often the ticket you buy first.

Everything afterwards is where things start getting expensive.