Ryanair has hit the headlines again for another incident of extra charges being applied after a customer had purchased a supposedly low-cost ticket. The Irish carrier, supposedly a “budget” operator, is so notorious for hidden costs that social media sites are full of unhappy customers and wry comedy sketches denouncing their cheap deals.
This time it was a customer flying from Dublin to London Stansted after a weekend visiting friends, who fell foul of the company’s baggage rules. Ruby Flanagan wrote in British newspaper The Mirror about her experience, admitting that she was aware of the airline’s “reputation for ridiculous extra charges” but nonetheless chose to book a “non-priority” ticket allowing one “small” bag. It cost her approximately €43 (£35.86) both ways – a deal she described as “properly cheap and cheerful.”
“Unenvironmental”
Flanagan used a backpack purchased the previous year that fit the airline’s specific dimensions of 40 x 20 x 25cm. She also took along a 750ml reusable water bottle, which she carried strapped to its top. The arrangement was no problem on the outward flight, but when trying to board the return journey, she was pulled aside by cabin crew and told the bottle would need to fit inside her rucksack.
EXCL 'Ryanair charged me £50 to take a water bottle on a flight – if i didn't pay I couldn't get on'https://t.co/qw10n48Y6A pic.twitter.com/QXwQ3JxqEX
— Mirror Travel (@MirrorTravel) February 11, 2025
Unfortunately for Flanagan, she could not make the bottle fit inside without making the backpack too big to fit in the airline’s measuring frame. Although she tried to argue her case and noticed multiple passengers carrying laptops and pillows, she was invited to pay €60 (£50) for the bottle, which was deemed to be “extra baggage”, or miss the flight. She says she only realised afterwards she could have simply discarded the bottle – which she had purchased for around €30 (£25) – but points out “that would’ve been ridiculously un-environmental.”
Make room by discarding low cost items
Simon Calder, travel expert writing in The Independent notes that, though Flanagan’s experience was frustrating and caused her air ticket to effectively triple in price, the airline’s policy was applied correctly. He suggests that customers finding themselves in a similar position should consider not paying the extra charge and instead throw away low-cost, inconsequential items such as socks, to make extra room in their bag as needed.
Part of the issue at stake however, appears to be the inconsistent application of rules, since Flanagan was not challenged over her water bottle on the way out. According to Flanagan, four other flyers were asked to pay for additional baggage on the same flight out of the Irish capital – potentially boosting the airline’s revenues by around €240 (£200). Though airlines would argue that extra bags and therefore weight do cause additional fuel consumption, it does seem difficult to justify charging a passenger for a whole bag, when the only offending item is a water bottle.
