Ryanair has revealed it’s changing its hand luggage allowance, meaning passengers will no longer be able to put a small suitcase into the hold for free. The budget airline made the announcement on Monday, revealing that only passengers with priority tickets will be able to take two pieces of hand luggage on board from 1 November.
Under the airline’s previous policy, which came into effect in January 2018, customers were allowed to take a small handbag on board, with small wheelie cases under 10kg placed in the hold free of charge. However, customers will now have to pay at least £8 to check in their suitcases at the bag drop desk, or pay £6 to upgrade to a priority boarding ticket.
Only priority Ryanair passengers will be able to take two bags on board their flight
Non-priority ticket holders will now only be allowed to take a small bag on board, measuring 40 x 20 x 25cm. Meanwhile, priority tickets can continue to take two free bags in the cabin – one wheelie bag and one small bag. Any luggage for the hold will now be checked in at the bag drop desk, and luggage will no longer be taken at the gate. The airline promises that this will mean better punctuality for flight departures.
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However, the news hasn’t been well received by many Ryanair customers, a number of whom took to social media to vent their frustrations. "Wow, so you found a new way to make some extra money," one commented. Another asked: "So effectively you want to make everyone go for priority booking… so what happens when there is not enough room for all the cases?"
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Another expressed concern that the changes would mean that everyone opts to pay for priority boarding – making the scheme inefficient. "£6 for priority or £8 for checked baggage. You will end up with the majority of people going priority, defeating the whole object of ‘priority’. Makes no sense!" one tweeted.
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The announcement coincided with the revelation that Ryanair raked in £1.1billion in six months in charges for extras including baggage, priority boarding and choosing seats. However, the airline reported a seven per cent decline in pre-tax profits to £1.06bn in the six months between April and September.
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