Shock as Ryanair force passenger to pay over £100 for carry-on case - even though it fit in the checker
6 November 2024, 18:11
A woman has shared her shock at being forced to pay over £100 extra to bring a suitcase onto her Ryanair flight - despite the fact it fit in the checker.
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Catherine Warrilow was flying from Stansted to Seville in October and had paid extra for a carry-on case.
Her bag fit in the sizing rack provided by the airline - but she was told that due to its expandable zip, she would have to pay extra to bring it on.
She said airline staff told her that because of the expandable zip she might have to "kneel on it" to get the case into the overhead locker.
"It's just mind-bendingly ridiculous," she said.
Read more: British Airways cancels all flights between London Gatwick and New York until 2025
Ms Warrilow, an author from Oxford, said that she had ended up paying over £100 for the case across her two flights.
Explaining the situation on TikTok, she said: "It had the potential to be bigger than the size allowance even though it fit within their sizing rack when closed. They weren't having it whatsoever.
"It doesn't make any sense. It seems like loads of other people are having problems with expandable zips and also just being picked on at random in the queue.
"Some people are getting on without any problem and some people are getting fined."
Ms Warrilow eventually got a refund after complaining about the extra charges, with her videos on the subject gaining hundreds of thousands of views.
But she said she thought it might be part of a wider problem.
She told viewers: "It seems like hundreds and hundreds of people have been impacted by rip-off decisions."
Ryanair said in an original statement: "This passenger purchased a Priority Fare which permits a small personal bag and a 10kg bag.
"As this passenger's bag exceeded the dimensions allowed for a 10kg cabin bag, she was correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee."
