Ryanair is planning to increase bonuses for staff who catch passengers travelling with oversized bags, as boss Michael O’Leary doubles down on the airline’s strict baggage rules.
The airline currently pays workers a €2.50 commission every time they identify a passenger carrying luggage that exceeds Ryanair’s permitted cabin bag dimensions and charge them the additional fee at the gate.
However, O’Leary has now revealed that the bonus could soon rise again to €3.50 per bag, after the number of passengers being caught with oversized luggage reportedly fell sharply once travellers became aware staff were financially incentivised to check baggage sizes.
“The number of outsized bags is falling from, I don't know, 0.0001 [per cent] to 0.00001,” O’Leary said.
“As the numbers fall, I think we will up the rate of commission, from €2.50 to €3.50 or so.”
“Everybody must know, do not show up with a bag that doesn't fit in the sizer because you will be charged.”
Passengers whose bags fail to meet Ryanair’s size requirements can currently be hit with a €75 fee at the boarding gate.
Passengers boarding Ryanair plane. AS photo family, Shutterstock
Under the airline’s standard fare rules, travellers are allowed one small personal bag measuring 40 x 30 x 20cm, which must fit underneath the seat in front of them.
Passengers can also pay extra for a larger cabin bag weighing up to 10kg with dimensions of 55 x 40 x 20cm, which is stored in the overhead locker.
The proposed bonus increase follows a previous rise in November 2025, when staff incentives were increased from €1.50 to €2.50 per oversized bag detected.
O’Leary has repeatedly defended the airline’s strict approach to luggage enforcement, insisting that the rules help keep fares low and improve boarding efficiency.
The Ryanair chief said around 200,000 passengers each year are forced to pay additional baggage fees after attempting to board with oversized luggage.
He added that he has little sympathy for what he described as “chancers” trying to bring oversized “rucksacks” onto flights without paying.
“We’re the airline with the lowest air fares in Europe,” O’Leary said.
“Those are our rules. Please comply with the rules, as 99.9% of our 200 million passengers do, and you won’t have any problem.”
According to O’Leary, stricter baggage enforcement also helps speed up boarding and reduce delays.
“If passengers comply with the bag rules then everyone will board faster and there will be fewer flight delays,” he said.
The announcement comes shortly after the Ryanair boss also called for tighter alcohol restrictions at airports, including proposals to ban alcohol sales in bars before early morning flights.
O’Leary claimed airlines are increasingly being forced to divert flights due to disruptive and intoxicated passengers, arguing that airport bars should face licensing rules similar to pubs and bars on the high street.
