Ryanair passengers forced to pay £21 for new hidden fee – or face huge airport queues

RYANAIR passengers have voiced their anger after the airline appeared to add a new hidden fee to its flights.

The budget airline is well-known for its basic fares, with optional add-ons like check-in luggage, seat reservation and boarding pass printing increasing the costs.

However, some customers were surprised at being asked to stump up a new fee.

Until recently, the airline provided people with their digital boarding passes for free via their app, whether they had paid for specific seats or not.

But it appears that has changed and passengers now have to pay between £7 and £21 for a randomly allocated seat, which will then allow them to have their pass on their phone before travelling to the airport.

Those who don't pay up will have to wait in line to get their boarding pass at the check-in desks instead.

It is unclear when the charge was first introduced, but passengers have taken to X, formerly Twitter, over the last few days to complain.

One wrote to the airline: "Charging for a mobile boarding pass? You are ridiculous."

Another said: "I just can’t believe your new policy of not allowing passengers to create a boarding pass (mobile or print-out) unless they buy a seat.

"Forcing them to join a check-in queue (30m or longer) to do so for no other reason for you to make a few quid. Scandalous."

A third added: "New boarding pass charges from Ryanair, just keep on giving don’t they!

"Used to be my go to airline, now I avoid if possible!"

A spokesperson from the budget carrier told Sun Online Travel: "There is no charge for a Ryanair digital boarding pass – ever.

"All Ryanair passengers can pay for a reserved seat if they so wish or if passengers wish to avoid this seat fee, they can select a randomly allocated seat, entirely free of charge."

Sun Online Travel has requested further clarification regarding passengers who haven't paid for a seat having to queue at the airport to get their boarding pass, rather than simply be given it online.

The majority of airlines require passengers to check-in online from 24 hours before their flight.

They are often given the chance to download their boarding pass at the same time, although some opt to collect them from the airport.

Either way, the service is usually free, but Ryanair seem to have bucked that trend with the newly-rolled out policy.

It's not the first time they've annoyed passengers over boarding pass costs either, with others previously charged £55 to print their passes at the airport.

Anyone who doesn't check in for their flight online two hours before their scheduled takeoff time has to pay the fee, as set out in the terms and conditions on the .

The fee is listed as an "airport check-in fee" and will be handed out to anyone who doesn't do it prior to their arrival at the airport.

It states: "If you do not check in online more than two hours before the scheduled departure time, you will be charged the airport check-in fee set out in our table of fees."

This caught out an elderly couple earlier this year, who accidentally printed out the wrong boarding passes for their flights.

Meanwhile, these are the airlines with the worst hidden fees.

And Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has defended his airline's add-on fees, claiming they're good for passengers.