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Ryanair has decided to give its airport staff a little boost when it comes to spotting cheeky passengers trying to sneak oversized bags onto the plane. Michael O’Leary, the airline’s outspoken boss, has announced that boarding gate employees will now earn €2.50 every time they flag a bag that doesn’t fit the rules.

 

That is up from the previous €1.50 incentive Ryanair admitted to recently and it kicks in when the winter schedule starts in November.

 

To make matters worse for passengers trying to squeeze in a few extra bits, there is no limit anymore. Before, staff could only pocket up to €80 a month in these bonuses. Now the more non-compliant bags they stop, the more they can take home at the end of the month.

 

Mr O’Leary explained the change in policy: “We want our ground handling staff to detect those who try to circumvent the rules.” He also stressed that the aim is to make sure everyone plays fair without punishing passengers who stick to the baggage policy.

 

So what exactly are the rules? At the moment, every Ryanair passenger can bring one free piece of hand luggage as long as it fits under the seat. The maximum size is 40 by 30 by 20 centimetres, which is a little bigger than before.

 

If you want a second bag, usually a small 10kg wheelie case, you can pay for that at a lower rate than checking in a full suitcase. But if you turn up at the gate with something larger than allowed, staff can stop you boarding until you pay a surcharge that can climb as high as €87.

 

Interestingly, Mr O’Leary pointed out that almost everyone follows the rules already. In his words, 99.9% of passengers stick to the limits, while only a tiny minority end up paying the gate fee each year. That works out at roughly 200 travellers who get caught trying their luck.

 

For the staff on the ground though, those 200 could now mean a tidy little bonus.

 

The airline is also making headlines for a very different reason this winter. Ryanair is scaling back nearly one million seats across Spain’s regional airports in its ongoing row with Aena, the national airport operator. At the heart of the dispute is a rise in airport fees which the carrier says makes many smaller airports uncompetitive.

 

Several destinations are taking a major hit. Ryanair is closing its base at Santiago de Compostela, suspending flights from Vigo on January 1 and cutting back services in Zaragoza, Santander, Asturias, Vitoria and Tenerife North.

 

In the south, Jerez will lose Ryanair flights altogether. On the flip side, Malaga looks set to gain extra routes despite the wider reductions and Alicante is expected to keep or even increase its service thanks to what Ryanair views as fairer fees.

 

 

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