Latest news with #RyanairStaff
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
Meltdown teacher denied boarding Ryanair flight over her bag size breaks silence & insists new vid proves she WAS right
A TEACHER who was filmed having an emotional outburst after being denied boarding to a Ryanair flight has insisted a separate video proves she was right. A viral clip showed Tsvetana Kalinina in meltdown at Sofia Airport in Bulgaria when she was denied boarding due to an "over-sized bag". 6 6 6 It shows the 55-year-old weeping and banging on the doors when she was refused entry. She had been told to pay for extra baggage because her luggage didn't fit in the holdall. Tsvetana said her bag could in fact fit and refused to pay the extra fee. But she has now claimed a new video showing her luggage fitting into the baggage sizer vindicates her. The video shows her gently lowering her bag into the sizer, attempting to demonstrate it had the correct dimensions. "I was one of the last people in the queue," she told the Daily Mail. "I had a small handbag and my usual cabin bag – the same one I've travelled with for years without issue. "I didn't even think it could be a problem. "When I started to check in, the Ryanair staff member suddenly told me I couldn't carry both. " Tsvetana said a man behind her had kindly offered to tuck her handbag into his luggage so she could go on through. Brits face DAYS of travel chaos after all flights grounded at UK airports - as tech glitch 'mystery' grows But despite this, a Ryanair employee still insisted she had to pay the additional fee. "While I was trying to carefully place it in the sizer - because I had fragile items - the staff member just said, 'That's it. I'm cancelling your ticket'," she explained. She said the stress of the situation got to her in that moment, leading to her meltdown. Tsvetana added that her distress came partly out of fear of losing her job if she didn't show up on time in Vienna. "The stress and shock overwhelmed me," she told the paper. "I don't remember everything because I was in such a state. "I broke down. I know people said I was emotional or even aggressive, but I wasn't. I never insulted anyone." Which she begged the other passengers for their support, cops tried to move her away from the gate. "I felt like I was being treated as a criminal,' she added. "It was humiliating. Completely degrading. And I truly don't believe I did anything wrong, I followed the rules. "Eventually I was taken to see a doctor at the airport. That's how bad my condition was. "The doctor was worried about my health after the mental toll of the situation." She added that she would "think twice" about flying with Ryanair again. But a Ryanair spokesperson has defended the airline staff's response to the incident. They said: "This passenger booked a Basic Fare ticket for this flight from Sofia to Vienna, which allowed them to carry a small personal bag onboard. "As this passenger's bag exceeded the permitted size, they were correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee however refused to do so and became aggressive towards gate staff. "As a result of their aggressive behaviour, the gate agent denied this passenger boarding for this flight from Sofia to Vienna." 6 6
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
For once, Ryanair needs to say sorry
Ryanair has a problem in its stance on the oversized cabin bags row – and not with the fact that it offers staff commission for any oversized luggage they detect. The problem is trust. Under Michael O'Leary , the airline has built its reputation on straight speaking. It offers a no-frills service and you get what you pay for. It will tell you quite bluntly what you can expect and what you cannot and it is not overly concerned if it ruffles some feathers in the process, whether that is among its passengers or among consumer advocates. READ MORE And that's fine. Really, it is. Everyone knows where they stand if they fly with Ryanair. The airline will almost always get you where you want to go when you expect to be there. On the rare occasions it doesn't, that's generally just the passengers' bad luck. Part of the deal is you pay for every accommodation – baggage, being first on the plane, sitting in more-favoured seats, getting your boarding card printed at the airport, food, water, whatever. So it would have come as no surprise to anyone that in its relentless pursuit to streamline operations, the airline would incentivise its staff to identify cabin baggage that, however marginally, exceeded the permitted dimensions. [ Ryanair looking to boost staff commission to tackle 'scourge' of oversized bags Opens in new window ] Nor that it should be deaf to any clamour alleging it had shrunk its bag sizers. The problem is that one of Mr O'Leary's senior lieutenants went on air and said expressly: 'We don't pay our staff commission for bags.' That, as we now know, is not true. Ryanair is very quick out of the traps – generally within hours – to address any perceived inaccuracy in reports on how it conducts its business. It is not credible that it and the people it pays to monitor media coverage would not have been aware for three months that, in commenting on what was at the time a high-profile issue, a senior executive had made a statement entirely at odds with the truth, misleading passengers and the wider public. Being straight speaking is one of Ryanair's unique selling and branding points. If passengers cannot take Ryanair at its word, however blunt, it risks breaking its unspoken contract with its target market. This time, Ryanair needs to show that it knows how to say 'sorry'.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ryanair boss considers increasing staff bonus to tackle excess baggage ‘scourge'
Ryanair ( is considering increasing a bonus paid to staff for identifying passengers' oversized luggage, its chief executive said. The airline currently pays staff around 1.50 euros (£1.30) for intercepting customers who are bringing bags on to the aircraft. It is reported that the bonus is capped at about 80 euros (£70) for each staff member per month. Passengers are charged a fee of up to 75 euros (£65) for bringing luggage that is larger than they paid for while booking their journey. Ryanair currently includes a small carry-on bag – capped at a size of 40x20x25cm and weight of 10kg – with every ticket. Passengers must pay a fee if they want to bring larger luggage, or if they want to bring multiple bags. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said on Monday that summer fares would, on average, be the same rate as 2023 – but added that he expects a boost in profitability for the airline by 'controlling costs'. Members of the European Parliament are pushing for airlines to allow passengers to be allowed to bring on free an on-board personal item and small hand luggage. However, Mr O'Leary predicted the proposal will not come into law due to a lack of space. Speaking to the business news on RTE's Morning Ireland, he said: 'We're flying largely full flights, about half the passengers can bring two bags and the other half can only bring one – because that's all that fits in the plane. 'We're already struggling with that amount of baggage. 'That's one of the reasons we are so aggressive about eliminating the scourge of passengers with excess baggage.' Mr O'Leary said more than 99.9% of passengers comply with baggage rules, with 'sizers' located within the airport. He said: 'We are happy to incentivise our (staff) with a share of those excess baggage fees, which we think will decline over the coming year or two.' The chief executive added: 'It is about 1.50 euro per bag – and we're thinking of increasing it, so we eliminate it.' Meanwhile, Mr O'Leary predicted that US President Donald Trump will 'chicken out' of introducing increased tariffs for Europe on August 1. Asked if he anticipated tariffs applying to Boeing aircraft being delivered to the airline, he said: 'Trump will probably chicken out again, I suspect the August 1 will get moved to September or October. 'We have taken delivery of five aircraft in the first quarter but no tariffs applied to those aircraft 'There is a risk of tariffs being introduced by the Europeans or the Americans in some tit-for-tat in August, September or October – but Boeing (BA) will have to pay those tariffs.' Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would work with Boeing to ensure no tariffs are applied to commercial aircraft, which he said would be bad for the manufacturer's exports to Europe as well as Airbus's ( sales to the US – as well as the Irish aircraft leasing industry. He added: 'There's increasing optimism, though, in Washington that commercial aircraft will be exempt from any tariffs – if Trump ever gets around to actually imposing tariffs.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Ryanair boss reveals exact bonus staff get for catching oversized bags
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has revealed the bonus his staff receive for identifying oversized bags before they reach the plane - and is weighing up increasing it. Speaking to Petula Martyn on RTE Radio 1 this morning (21 July), O'Leary confirmed Ryanair staff get a bonus of around €1.50 per bag caught. 'We're thinking of increasing it, so that we eliminate [oversized bags],' he added. O'Leary also claimed there was 'no chance' of European Parliament proposals allowing passengers to bring a 7kg bag onboard planes for free passing into law because 'that amount of bags don't fit on the aircraft'.
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary says he's 'happy to incentivise' staff to crack down on oversized luggage
Ryanair is considering increasing a bonus paid to staff for identifying passengers' oversized luggage, its chief executive has announced. The airline currently pays staff around €1.50 (£1.30) for intercepting customers who are bringing bags on to the aircraft. It is reported that the bonus is capped at about €80 (£70) for each staff member per month. Passengers are charged a fee of up to €75 (£65) for bringing luggage that is larger than they paid for while booking their journey. Ryanair currently includes a small carry-on bag - capped at a size of 40x20x25cm and weight of 10kg - with every ticket. Passengers must pay a fee if they want to bring larger luggage, or if they want to bring multiple bags. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said on Monday that summer fares would, on average, be the same rate as 2023 - but added that he expects a boost in profitability for the airline by 'controlling costs'. Members of the European Parliament are pushing for airlines to allow passengers to be allowed to bring on free an on-board personal item and small hand luggage. However, Mr O'Leary predicted the proposal will not come into law due to a lack of space. Speaking to the business news on RTE's Morning Ireland, he said: 'We're flying largely full flights, about half the passengers can bring two bags and the other half can only bring one - because that's all that fits in the plane. 'We're already struggling with that amount of baggage. 'That's one of the reasons we are so aggressive about eliminating the scourge of passengers with excess baggage.' Mr O'Leary said more than 99.9 per cent of passengers comply with baggage rules, with 'sizers' located within the airport. He said: 'We are happy to incentivise our (staff) with a share of those excess baggage fees, which we think will decline over the coming year or two.' The chief executive added: 'It is about €1.50 per bag - and we're thinking of increasing it, so we eliminate it.' Meanwhile, Mr O'Leary predicted that US President Donald Trump will 'chicken out' of introducing increased tariffs for Europe on August 1. Ryanair currently includes a small carry-on bag - capped at a size of 40x20x25cm and weight of 10kg - with every ticket Asked if he anticipated tariffs applying to Boeing aircraft being delivered to the airline, he said: 'Trump will probably chicken out again, I suspect the August 1 will get moved to September or October. 'We have taken delivery of five aircraft in the first quarter but no tariffs applied to those aircraft 'There is a risk of tariffs being introduced by the Europeans or the Americans in some tit-for-tat in August, September or October - but Boeing will have to pay those tariffs.' Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would work with Boeing to ensure no tariffs are applied to commercial aircraft, which he said would be bad for the manufacturer's exports to Europe as well as Airbus's sales to the US - as well as the Irish aircraft leasing industry. He added: 'There's increasing optimism, though, in Washington that commercial aircraft will be exempt from any tariffs - if Trump ever gets around to actually imposing tariffs.'
