Airline pays bonuses to staff for every oversize carry-on bag caught
'You risk abuse or worse – imagine stopping a group of lads on a stag weekend and telling them: 'I'm going to have to charge you more than you paid for your tickets to check those bags into the hold. ''
Ground handlers working for DHL Supply Chain, a third-party firm, at Gatwick, Bristol and Manchester airports also reportedly have a remuneration package for identifying non-compliant EasyJet bags.
EasyJet, which recorded an annual revenue of more than £9 billion in 2024, has oversight of incentives available to employees at third-party companies.
Bag rules 'well understood'
A spokesman for the airline said: 'EasyJet is focused on ensuring our ground-handling partners apply our policies correctly and consistently in fairness to all our customers.
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'Our bag policies and options are well understood, and we remind customers of this when booking, before they travel and on their boarding pass, which means a very small proportion of customers who don't comply will be charged at the airport.'
Unlike in Australia, where cabin bag limits are primarily focused on weight, European airlines tend to focus more on dimensions. The weight limit on easyJet for a carry-on bag is 15 kilograms, compared to just seven kilograms for carry-on bags on Jetstar and Virgin Australia.
The EU recently proposed introducing new standardised rules for airlines, which would allow passengers to bring one personal item, such as a handbag or a backpack, and one item of cabin baggage weighing less than 7kg on board 'free' of charge.
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The shake-up, which was put forward last month, would apply to any flight taking off or landing in the EU but requires the approval of 55 per cent of member nations before it can come into force.
Swissport operates passenger services at 17 airports in the UK, and also provides ground handling services for Ryanair, Tui, Lufthansa and Vueling.
The company also operates services at 20 Australian airports, including every major capital city airport. Jetstar and Virgin Australia both charge passengers for oversized cabin-bags that are checked at the gate. Virgin Australia confirmed that its ground crew do not receive any incentives for weighing bags at the gate and that this is considered part of staff's normal responsibilities. Jetstar has been contacted for comment.
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