Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has vowed to intensify the crackdown on the “one in 1,000” passengers who break the airline’s strict cabin baggage limits – claiming that the policy will lead to lower fares.
From the start of the aviation winter season in November, incentives for ground staff to identify passengers who breach the limit for a free bag on Ryanair will rise.
The airline has a limit of 40 x 30 x 20cm for a “personal item”. The volume has recently increased from 40 x 20 x 25cm, as a result of an agreement among European airlines to adopt a new minimum size for cabin luggage.
Passengers whose bags are too big are liable to pay a penalty of up to £60, with the offending luggage placed in the hold.
“You will be required to leave your bags at the aircraft steps, in the gate bag trolley, or as directed by Ryanair agents, for stowage in the hold,” the airline says.
Ground staff at busy airports are currently rewarded with a payment of €1.50 (£1.30) for each bag that is too large, up to a maximum of €80 (£69) per month.
Mr O’Leary told The Independent the payment will rise to €2.50 (£2.25), with the earning cap lifted.
He said: “99.9 per cent of Ryanair passengers comply with the bag rules, no issues
“That 0.1 per cent, we need to get rid of them. We need to get rid of those big bags. Everybody has to play by the rules, and then there'll be no issues, but we are going to continue to catch more people.
“Our staff at the gates – we’re incentivising them now. They get paid €1.50 for any oversized bag they find.
“We're going to increase that to €2.50 from probably November, mainly because they're finding less and less oversized bags because more and more people are complying with the rules.
“The more we can do that and eliminate that, the faster the boarding will be, the quicker the turnarounds will be and the more efficient overall Ryanair will be – and we'll keep passing on those efficiencies in the form of low fares.”
Many passengers have complained that ground staff are heavy handed.
But the Ryanair chief executive said: “I make absolutely no apology for it whatsoever. I want our ground handlers to be catching the people who are scamming the system.”
Ryanair says it will add four new or restored routes from London Stansted from the start of the winter season, connecting the Essex airport with Lübeck and Münster in Germany, Murcia in Spain and Trapani in Sicily.
The airline says it now connects Stansted with more European destinations than are served from Heathrow.
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