Ryanair’s new baggage policy comes into force today

RYANAIR passengers will have to shell out an extra €5 for priority boarding from today if they want to bring both their hand luggage bags on board.

The budget airline is changing its rules which up until now allowed customers to bring both a 10kg piece of carry-on luggage and a second smaller bag on board for free.

From now on passengers will be forced to put the larger of their two bags into the plane’s hold unless they have paid at least an extra €5 for priority boarding. The change means passengers who check in luggage will be forced to wait to collect their bags when they land, while those who paid for priority boarding and travelled with their bags in the cabin will be able to proceed straight away with their holiday.

In a statement reminding customers of the change, Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said it was intended to reduce delays when boarding. He said: ‘This new policy is centred around lower checked bag fees and bigger bag allowances. All Ryanair customers will still be free to bring two free carry-on bags but we will now ask non-priority customers to put their bigger bag in the hold – free of charge – in order to eliminate boarding delays and improve our industry leading on-time departures.’

Priority boarding costs €5 per seat, or €6 if added to the ticket up to one hour before the flight. The small carry-on bag that regular, non-priority passengers are permitted to carry on free should be no more than 5kg in weight and just 35cm x 20cm x 20cm in size. Duty-free purchases will not be affected by this and customers can bring them on board separately in the bag they are placed in by airport staff.

Ryanair said customers travelling with infants can still bring a 5kg baby bag on board, while customers with waivers for special medical items, who contact the airline in advance, will also be accommodated. The airline said it has also lowered check-in bag prices from €35 to €25 per bag, if booked at the same time as the flight.