'Ryanair charged me £50 to take a water bottle on a flight - if I didn't pay, I couldn't get on'

I was precocious charged €60 (£49.95) erstwhile I was caught retired by Ryanair’s baggage policy. However, my complaint did not travel from an overly ample container arsenic they usually do, but due to the fact that I had a h2o bottle.

The Irish hose is known for offering immoderate of the lowest prices erstwhile it comes to travelling abroad. However, it besides has a estimation for ridiculous other charges. Many of those are slapped connected customers who are judged to person breached their luggage allowance astatine the boarding gate. It was this benignant that I was the unfortunate of connected a recent travel to Dublin.

One speedy hunt connected societal media volition amusement you the grade of the container complaint and conscionable however galore radical get deed with it. I took a fewer days disconnected to spot immoderate friends successful the Irish capital. As it was a abbreviated trip, I opted to usage my backpack and booked myself a "non-priority" ticket. This would let maine to bring 1 "small" container onto the formation - that would acceptable nether the seat successful beforehand of maine - with dimensions of 40 x 20 x 25cm. Overall, the tickets some ways acceptable maine backmost £35.86 - decently inexpensive and cheerful.

Have you fallen foul of Ryanair's rules? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Last year, I purchased a backpack connected Amazon that acceptable the airline's circumstantial dimensions and person utilized it connected aggregate trips, ne'er having an issue. So I planned to usage the container again without a 2nd thought. At 5.30am connected Saturday, February 1, my boarding walk was seamlessly scanned astatine Stansted Airport by Ryanair gross unit and I sauntered down the agelong corridor to my formation - backpack connected my backmost and h2o vessel tied to the apical handle. Looking back, I privation this had not been the case, considering what I was astir to acquisition a specified 3 days later.

On my mode backmost from Dublin, nursing a sore throat that made maine dependable similar I had been smoking 30 cigarettes a time for the past 20 years, I reached the gross for my Stansted formation astatine 12.05pm. The gross closed astatine 11.30am, and arsenic I had an aisle spot and conscionable a backpack, I waited to locomotion done until astir 20 past. As I approached the gate, my passport and boarding walk were scanned, and arsenic I took the adjacent measurement forward, I felt a pat connected my shoulder.

“You request to enactment your container successful here,” says the Ryanair unit subordinate arsenic she tapped the box. I did what she asked, placing the container in. With a small shove, it fit. After pulling it backmost onto my shoulder, the unit subordinate sharply pointed to the h2o vessel hanging successful a strap crossed my body, stating: "That volition request to spell successful the bag."

I croakily asked if that was necessary, arsenic I didn’t request to bash that connected my incoming flight. She responded by saying that I needed to person each extras wrong my container erstwhile going connected the formation and ushered maine backmost to the departure seats. At this point, I started to get a small flustered and anxiously fumbled to get the 750ml metallic vessel into my bag.

I was 1 of a fistful of different passengers who had been pulled speech by the Ryanair unit and were desperately trying to repack. After moving a fewer bits astir and shoving the vessel in, my container present had a elephantine growth-like lump connected the apical right-hand country arsenic the zip did its champion to enactment closed. I walked to the gross again and was made to rescan my boarding pass. As I stepped forward, different Ryanair unit subordinate jabbered, "That container is excessively big. You'll request to spell implicit determination and wage to get connected the flight."

Thrown by the statement, I asked them wherefore I couldn't instrumentality the vessel successful my manus arsenic I did connected my outgoing flight. I began to consciousness similar a problematic customer. In response, I was told that the h2o vessel needed to acceptable into the bag; otherwise, it would beryllium classed arsenic a "second bag", which was not allowed with my ticket. Stunned into implicit confusion, I asked again, emphasising the connection "water bottle".

The daze came arsenic I watched different backpack passengers holding laptops, Burger King bags and question pillows walk done without a hitch. At this point, I decidedly became a hard lawsuit - the benignant you would've seen connected the 1990s amusement Airline. But I couldn't get my caput astir it.

The different flyers flagged by Ryanair unit besides tried to reason their case, with galore mirroring my ain excuse of "I flew present with the container similar this, wherefore can't I alert back?" Each treatment consisted of a batch of manus flailing, a batch of eye-rolling, the connection "dimensions" repeated implicit and over, and a batch of pointing - specifically to the fella with the debit paper holder astatine the different extremity of the gross who sheepishly waved america over.

Ryanair officially closed the gross for our flight, and, astatine this point, I was successful a authorities of panic. I'd ne'er missed a formation before. Well, actually, I'd ne'er been told I wasn't allowed connected a formation by airstaff before. "What americium I expected to do?" I asked successful desperation. "You'll person to wage for it either way," 1 unit subordinate said, "out, it's a 2nd container and in, the bags excessively big, truthful you'll request to pay."

At this point, the level was acceptable to permission successful 15 minutes, and I was not successful my seat. So I drifted implicit to the fella with the card, paid €60, and was tagged with the yellowish sticker of shame connected my backpack. The sticker was fixed to the flyers who had not meticulously studied Ryanair's baggage rules and had messed up oregon blatantly ignored them. I counted astatine slightest 4 connected this formation so, if they were each charged €60 past Ryanair made astatine slightest an other £200 from us.

Ten minutes earlier the flight's departure, different shamed flyer and I ran down the stairs to the plane. Her compartment container - which she had flown with from Stansted 2 days anterior - was being taken to the clasp arsenic it had breached the dimensions by a specified centimetres owed to the grip astatine the top. She fumed, some to maine and the antheral taking her container to the hold, who responded with: "I can't archer you however galore times we bash this each day, I honestly don't cognize however it works."

After a sprint to my seat, I threw myself down to drawback my breath. I was shaking, confused, and utterly frustrated astatine what had happened. I couldn't enactment it unneurotic successful my head.

On the 50 infinitesimal formation backmost to London, I realised that it would've been cheaper to propulsion the vessel distant and bargain a caller 1 for £25 erstwhile I landed. Of course, that level of hindsight conscionable made maine consciousness stupid. But that would've been ridiculously un-environmental - and would've taken distant from the restitution of being the implicit one-millionth integrative vessel of h2o saved from landfill by refilling mine. Shout retired to Dublin Airport for informing maine of that info.

After landing, I dragged myself to my coach, filled successful a ailment signifier with Ryanair astir the charge, and explained successful item what had happened. In response, Ryanair opened by noting that I was "disputing a baggage interest charged for carrying a h2o vessel abstracted from your carry-on bag" and past rejected my claim, regurgitated the nonstop wording from its baggage leafage connected its website.

After discussing the chaotic acquisition with colleagues astatine work, I took the lawsuit to Ryanair's property team. I wanted to cognize if determination was a quality betwixt bringing my ain h2o vessel and buying a integrative h2o vessel astatine the airport. Would it person gotten through? Also, I asked, did this regularisation screen cervix pillows, scarves, umbrellas, and different things that are connected to bags erstwhile travelling? I wanted to cognize arsenic each it says connected the baggage leafage is: "All our fares see 1 tiny idiosyncratic container which tin beryllium brought connected board, specified arsenic a handbag, backpack, oregon laptop container (40x20x25cm), which indispensable acceptable nether the spot successful beforehand of you."

Ryanair did not respond to this query and said that I was not permitted to bring the h2o vessel bearer container connected the formation by itself; it needed to acceptable wrong my container allowance. However, I person yet to find retired however I tin specifically adhd the h2o vessel bearer to my summons going forward. I volition update this nonfiction erstwhile I cognize more.

The connection from Ryanair said: "This rider booked a Basic Fare summons for this formation from Dublin to Stansted (4 Feb), which allowed them to transportation a tiny idiosyncratic container onboard. This rider attempted to committee with an further carry-on, and arsenic it would not acceptable wrong their permitted bag, she was correctly required to wage a modular gross baggage interest (€60). Once outgo was made, this rider travelled connected this formation from Dublin to Stansted (4 Feb).”