Ryanair’s strict hand luggage rules after warning issued to travellers over ‘viral’ packing hack
Niamh Spence
Featured Image Credit: Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Jackyenjoyphotography/Getty Images
You've booked an absolute steal of a holiday, bought your holiday wardrobe and now you're getting ready for the airport.
It might be tempting to use some of the online packing 'hacks' that have been widely shared on social media, but that could see your holiday get off to a bad start before you've even travelled to your destination.
If you're flying with Ryanair in particular, then you might want to take note of their hand luggage rules as otherwise you can be hit with costly extra fees.
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At the moment, the budget airline allows hand luggage only passengers to bring 'one small bag', which must be no bigger than 40x20x25 cm.
It has to fit under the seat in front of you and if you bring a bigger bag or a second bag, then you could get asked to pay a fee of £20-£36 before you're allowed to board the plane.
If you want to bring a bigger bag such as a wheelie suitcase that can go in an overhead locker, you'll need to pay for it. Either buy it when you're booking, ahead of checking in or you'll have to pay at the gate.
One way to get more baggage is to pay for priority booking, which allows you to bring a bag weighing up to 10kg with you and as you're getting on first you'll definitely find space in the overhead lockers.
This can cost anything from £6 up to £36 depending on the route, but can cost you upwards of £38 if you have to pay for it at the airport.
The emphasis on the rules from Ryanair comes after one hack in particular has been widely shared, but it turns out many airlines are getting wise.
'The pillow hack' which sees travellers empty out a pillow or a travel pillow and stuff it full of clothes or additional extras to sneak onto the plane alongside their bag.
Whilst it might have initially worked, it's now well known to airport and airline staff and if you try it then you might still be hit with additional fees.
Whilst it wasn't with Ryanair, one woman shared a video on TikTok after a male passenger had tried to use the sneaky hack and failed.
She said in a voiceover of the footage: "Stop letting social media give you tips and tricks because sometimes it's not gonna work.
"This dude was trying to take in a pillowcase full of clothing and other items which he is stating was simply just a pillowcase and the dude was was like bro, everybody can see it's not a freaking pillow, like come on.
"They gave him the chance to pay for it, he went all the way up until they closed the doors to be like okay, I'll pay for it now, and then he tried to like bogart his way into the freaking, into the plane."
Natasha concluded: "He ended up getting escorted out, so stop listening to the internet."
The lesson here? Pay for additional baggage if you need it or pack light, otherwise you'll end up paying more.