Ryanair passenger charged £75 for carry-on bag which ‘clearly fit’ in measuring stand as he warns of hidden rule
A HOLIDAYMAKER has lashed out at Ryanair staff for charging him £75 because his suitcase was "too big".
Austin Price, 28, was preparing to jet off to Krakow from Bristol Airport on October 4 when airline workers asked him to stuff his luggage into a measuring stand.
The traveller, from Plymouth, claimed the bag fit in the gap - but the "wonky" wheels did not.
Cyber security worker Austin then alleged that a "rather rude" Ryanair employee demanded he cough up an eye watering add-on fee.
The holidaymaker shamed the brand online in a post, ranting: "What kind of f**ery is this? Just been charged £75 for a bag which clearly fits. Sort this s*** out."
However, the holidaymaker's snaps appear to show the suitcase stuck out at the front.
read more in travel
The apparent error appeared to miss that Ryanair's website states 10kg bags must fit within the three dimensions - 55 x 40 x 20cm - and his appeared to be deeper than the permitted 20cm.
Ryanair defended the decision, stating that the "passenger's bag exceeded the dimensions allowed' for a 10kg cabin bag and was "correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee of £75."
Austin slammed the employee for "trying too much to do his job".
He then claimed: "We had priority, with which you get one hand luggage bag and one small suitcase. I used the same suitcase I have probably used for the last three years.
Most read in Travel
"When boarding, there was one individual [member of staff] that was rather rude.
"There was a guy that was asked to put his backpack in the box and the worker's response was that he has an attitude problem.
"The guy had his headphones on so he did not even hear him. He seemed confused; he had to put his backpack in when it obviously fit.
"They have changed the [measuring] boxes now. Before, you could wheel the suitcase in, while the new ones are like an open gap, almost like they are trying to catch people out.
"My suitcase was the size that fit in the gap and I have a photo of it sitting in, but because the wheels area a bit stiff it wouldn't sit flat because of the weight of the wheels.
"The wheels are not the size of the suitcase. I said it clearly fits in but he said that I have to pay.
"I thought it was only going to be around £28 as it is on their website and I thought 'that's annoying but I'll take the hit, gave my bank details and all of a sudden I got charged £75."
Austin was angry at how much he was charged after already paying for Priority boarding so he could take on the 10kg case.
The customer then wrote a seething email to the budget airline.
However he claims they simply responded informing him how much he had to pay.
Austin said: "I sent an email and the response was sh*t.
"They obviously didn't read what I wrote in the email because the response I got was them stating how much I have to pay but that's not what I asked.
"I have already paid and was told that I shouldn’t have paid so I wanted a refund.
"I literally used it a month ago with easyjet. I flew with Ryanair in April with the same bag and had no issues."
However Ryanair pointed out that the suitcase simply didn't fit in the 'fit to fly' measuring box.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
A spokesperson for the airlin said: "This passenger's bag exceeded the dimensions allowed for a 10kg cabin bag and was correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee of £75 to carry a 10kg cabin bag onboard."
The Sun Online has reached out to Ryanair for comment.
Hand luggage rules for UK airlines
We've rounded up how much hand luggage you can take on UK airlines when booking their most basic fare.
Ryanair
One personal bag measuring no more than 40cm x 20cm x 25cm
EasyJet
One personal bag measuring no larger than 45cm x 36cm x 20cm
Jet2
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm weighing up to 10kg
TUI
One personal item that its underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm weighing up to 10kg
British Airways
One personal bag no larger than 40cm x 30cm x 15cm and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm 25cm weighing up to 23kg
Virgin Atlantic
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 36cm x 23cm weighing up to 10kg