Ryanair bans wheelie bags as hand luggage

Airline: passengers are abusing existing rules on two items of hand luggage

Ryanair is banning passengers from using weekend and wheelie bags as hand luggage, over claims that customers are abusing its “two items” rule and causing delays. From Nov 1, millions of Ryanair passengers will be forced to put standard-sized hand luggage in the hold, unless they cough up £10 per return flight for priority boarding. Everyone else will be restricted to a small handbag or laptop bag.

Katie Morley

Emily Lawford RYANAIR is banning passengers from using weekend and wheelie bags as hand luggage, over claims that customers are abusing its “two items” rule and causing delays.

From Nov 1, millions of Ryanair passengers will be forced to put standard-sized hand luggage in the hold, unless they cough up £10 per return flight for priority boarding.

As part of the biggest overhaul of its baggage policy Ryanair has undertaken for four years, the budget airline will only allow “priority boarders” to take standard bags measuring up to 55cm x 40cm x 20cm into the cabin.

Everyone else will be able to keep a small handbag or laptop bag (35cm x 20cm x 20cm), but will have their bigger bags taken from them at the gate and placed in the hold.

For example, a “small” Mulberry clipper bag, which is designed for light travel occasions, measures 43cm x 23cm x 19.5cm, and would not qualify as a “free” cabin bag under Ryanair’s incoming policy.

The policy will make Ryanair the major airline with the smallest allowance for passenger bags in cabins.

At present, easyjet lets passengers take one free piece of hand baggage with a maximum size of 56cm x 45cm x 25cm.

Easyjet Plus cardholders, FLEXI fare, Up Front or Extra Legroom customers are allowed an extra piece of luggage under their seat.

British Airways allows one free handbag/laptop bag, with a maximum size of 40cm x 30cm x 15cm, and one free cabin bag of up to 56cm x 45cm x 25cm.

Thomson Airways allows one free hand baggage up to 55cm x 40cm x 20cm.

Ryanair said the move was part of its Always Getting Better programme, and would significantly reduce delays.

As part of the move it is also cutting the cost of checking in bags by £10, down from £35 per person per flight to £25.

The allowance for checked-in baggage is also increasing from 15kg to 20kg. Ryanair is hoping that charges from more customers opting for “priority boarding” will cover the cost of reducing checked baggage charges.

Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, told The Daily Telegraph that the announcement was a response to passengers taking too much luggage on board and causing delays, something Ryanair has been particularly critical of.

“We hope that restricting non-priority customers to one small carry-on bag will speed up the boarding of flights and eliminate delays being caused by not having sufficient overhead cabin space on busy flights,” he said.