Ryanair's New Hand Luggage Rules Have Come Into Effect And People Aren't Happy

As of today, new hand luggage rules have come into effect at budget airline, Ryanair.

The change means that passengers are now allowed to bring only one small bag on board free of charge.

Passengers who bring a second bag to the gate, or a small bag that is larger than 40x20x25cm, will be charged a fee of £25 ($32).

To avoid the fee at the gate, customers can pay £6 ($32) for priority boarding, which allows passengers to stow an additional bag of less than 10kg in the overhead lockers and access the priority queue.

Alternatively, passengers can pay £8 ($10) to stow a bag of less than 10kg in the hold.

PA

Prior to the rule change, Ryanair customers were entitled to bring a small bag that could fit under the chair in front and a bag of less than 10kg that could be stowed in the overhead lockers free of charge.

This is the second time the Irish airline has changed its baggage rules this year.

The company claims the changes have been implemented in order to reduce delays by minimising the time spent tagging cabin bags during boarding.

The airline also believes most travellers will not be affected by the changes, as 30 percent already pay for priority boarding and 30 percent only travel with one small carry-on bag. However, Nick Trend, the Telegraph's Travel Consumer Expert, said the other 40 percent now have a choice to make.

He said: "Ryanair has claimed that 60 percent of its customers will be unaffected by these changes, but it looks as though the remaining 40 percent will either have to dramatically reduce the amount of luggage they travel with, or pay £12-16 ($16-21) extra on a return fare.

"It's yet another complication when comparing fares. As I wrote only a few weeks ago about other fare changes made by the airline - its pricing system has become so labyrinthine, there are so many options, incentives and disincentives, that it has become seriously hard work for customers to work out whether they are getting good value for their money."

People have reacted negatively to the rule changes on Twitter.

Twitter/Warner Bros.

Twitter

Sophie Griffiths, editor of Travel Trade Gazette, also fears many passengers may not know about the new rules until it's too late.

According to the BBC, she said: "I'm not sure everyone will be aware of the changes - it could result in massive confusion.

"It's just one more thing for passengers to get their heads around."

A Ryanair spokesman said the new rules seemed to be 'working well' so far.

She said: "Our new bag policy, which was first announced on 23 Aug, came in to effect today (1 Nov) and initial reports from the airports and our customers are that that it's working well and reducing delays at security and speeding up the boarding process."

Topics: UK News, Ryanair, holidays, Flights

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey