Travellers across the UK are being alerted to a potential hidden charge that could hit their wallets hard when flying with budget airline Ryanair, all due to one simple oversight.

Renowned for its wallet-friendly fares, Ryanair is a go-to airline for Brits eager to explore European destinations without breaking the bank. However, failing to adhere to one key aspect of the booking process might see costs skyrocket, surpassing even those of luxury carriers such as British Airways and TUI.

Birmingham Live‘s reporter Emily Chaplin shared her observations of passengers incurring avoidable fees while boarding a Ryanair flight from Birmingham Airport to the sun-drenched island of Tenerife.

Recounting her experience, she remarked: “When we got to our gate, there was already a long queue and we quickly realised why the line was moving so slowly.

“A separate mini queue was forming behind a blue metal box at the passport check desk, and a woman at the front was desperately trying to cram her stuffed-to-the-brim backpack into the top section of the crate. My heart sank.”

Emily claimed she witnessed a stringent enforcement of Ryanair’s luggage policy, observing: “Every other person appeared to be getting pulled from the queue to test whether their bag fit the allowance on their booking.

“I knew Ryanair had stingy luggage limits – I’d bought an exactly-the-right-size backpack from Amazon, which was a snip at £24.99, to avoid paying extra to upgrade and spent ages rolling up all of my clothes to squeeze in five days worth. I’ve travelled with Ryanair plenty of times before but I’d never seen the rule so vehemently enforced.”

One hapless traveller, upon reaching the front of the passport control line, was instructed to test her suitcase against Ryanair’s size restrictions. Despite her efforts, the case wouldn’t fit, reports the Mirror.

The Ryanair employee said: “You’ll have to pay £46 to bring the bag on board”.

In response to her protest, “But I was allowed this last time I flew with Ryanair”, she was met with a dismissive, “It’s just Ryanair policy,” from the staff.

During the quarter of an hour leading up to boarding, Emily counted a total of 12 passengers who were hit with additional fees for oversized luggage.

She recounted one particular incident, saying: “In the 15-or-so minutes until we were allowed to board, we saw plenty of others having to measure their cases and 12 had to pay to upgrade when their bags didn’t fit.

“One woman with an over-stuffed backpack started pulling clothes out of her bag and shoving them on top of her outfit to lighten the load. It worked and she was allowed to go through without paying.”

Emily said she’s unsure whether Ryanair is clamping down harder on its luggage guidelines or if her experience at the airport was a one-off. 

Passengers can find the airline’s guidelines on its website.

Emily added: “It costs from £6 to add a bigger cabin bag and upgrade to Priority Boarding when you book, but can sometimes cost a lot more, so if you struggle to pack light, it might be worth doing so to save yourself 40 quid.”