Ryanair considers carry-on bag U-turn after new rules cause 'issues' at the gate

Ryanair has warned it could change its baggage policy for the second time this year, a move that could mean further added charges for passengers.

In January the low-cost carrier, which earns £5 million a day in extra fees, effectively banned holdalls and carry-on suitcases from its cabins unless their owners paid £5 per person per flight for priority boarding. Those who do not pay extra face having larger items of hand luggage put in the hold.

The policy - introduced to tackle the issue of overcrowded luggage bins and speed up the boarding process - amounted to the biggest overhaul of Ryanair’s luggage rules in four years, but has drawn ire from some holidaymakers, particularly those who are separated from their carry-on bag only to find ample space in the overhead lockers.

Ryanair’s outspoken CEO Michael O’Leary said the rule has speeded up boarding, but also created a “handling issue”, particularly at peak periods such as bank holiday weekends and the summer holidays.

“There are many flights where we’re now having to put 100, 120 gate bags free of charge into the hold, so if that continues to build, it’s something we may have to look at again,” he said this week in a video presentation to investors.

“But there’s no doubt both the feedback from the cabin crew and from customers is that nobody is struggling to find space on board in the bins or under the seats when they board the aircraft, and that’s good.”

A change in the policy could see passengers charged for larger carry-on bags, something already done by low-cost rivals such as Wizz Air, or lose the right to take a second smaller bag on board. 

Earlier this month Telegraph Travel reported on how some Ryanair passengers had being caught unaware at the gate when their bag was put into the hold, leaving them without their passports upon arrival.

Ryanair has previously said the new rules were a consequence of passengers abusing the two free bags policy and “coming with the kitchen sink”.

The scrum for space in the overhead lockers, and the impact it has on boarding times, has led airlines to reassess how they handle cabin bags.

Jet2, for example, introduced a charge to “guarantee” that hand luggage was not bumped into the hold, while EasyJet launched a service last year allowing passengers to pay £4 to have their hand luggage put in the hold, promising they will come out “among the first” on the baggage belt.

A study by Which? last year found that more and more travellers were having their hand luggage taken off them at the gate and placed in the hold, despite their bags meeting size and weight restrictions.

One in four Ryanair passengers parted company with their bags (before the current policy was introduced), while the figure fell to 15 per cent for EasyJet and four per cent for British Airways.

Devin Liddell, principal strategist at Teague, a design consultancy that specialises in aviation and counts Boeing among its clients, has previously told Telegraph Travel that airlines are “drunk” on baggage fees and that they might solve the issue by instead “rewarding” passengers who do not travel with larger bags “with reduced fares, preferred seats or even free drinks”.