A travel expert has weighed in after a woman opened up about being charged £50 for bringing her water bottle on board.
Mirror journalist Ruby Flanagan wrote this week about how bringing a 750ml bottle on board a Ryanair flight resulted in the charge.
Ruby said: "As I approached the gate, my passport and boarding pass were scanned, and as I took the next step forward, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"'You need to put your bag in here,' says the Ryanair staff member as she tapped the box. I did what she asked, placing the bag in. With a little shove, it fit. After pulling it back onto my shoulder, the staff member sharply pointed to the water bottle hanging in a strap across my body, stating: 'That will need to go in the bag.'
"I croakily asked if that was necessary, as I didn't need to do that on my incoming flight. She responded by saying that I needed to have all extras inside my bag when going on the flight and ushered me back to the departure seats. At this point, I started to get a little flustered and anxiously fumbled to get the 750ml metal bottle into my bag."
After stuffing the bottle in her bag, staff then told her that her bag, which she had bought from Amazon and matched the exact dimensions of Ryanair's cabin bag policy, no longer fit the necessary baggage dimensions, due to a lump from the bottle sticking out. Because now her bag was deemed too big, she was charged an extra £50.
Now, travel expert Simon Calder has cleared up Ryanair's policy, RSVP reports. Speaking to the Independent, he said: "I don't blame her it's really distressing and annoying and expensive when you get caught by the cabin baggage police. But, I'm afraid Ryanair is in the right.
"I've got a cabin bag that squishes into those frames but I know that if it ever came to it where it didn't, they would be perfectly entitled to charge me money."
He added that he would "start throwing away things like socks rather than having to pay extra".
According to their website, Ryanair's cabin bag size is 40 x 20 x 25 cm for a small personal bag and it is their policy that the bag must fit under the seat in front of you.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
English (United States) ·