Ryanair Under Fire After Passenger's Distressing Experience at Palma Airport

Ryanair is responding to criticism following an incident involving a female passenger at Palma Airport in Majorca, who experienced significant distress when denied boarding for a flight to Barcelona due to her luggage not meeting size regulations. According to her mother’s account to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, the passenger became extremely anxious over the situation, to the point of begging staff for permission to board the flight as she had urgent work commitments in Barcelona the next day.

Despite her desperate efforts, which included removing clothes from her bag to comply with the restrictions, a Ryanair spokesperson explained that the passenger had booked a non-priority ticket and was correctly asked to pay an additional fee of £41.81 (€50) at the gate for her larger bag. The spokesperson noted that the passenger's refusal to pay and her agitation towards staff led to her being denied boarding, and ultimately, she chose to book an alternative flight with another airline.

This incident has brought renewed attention to Ryanair's hand luggage policies, which have previously attracted criticism. There were claims on social media suggesting that the airline had made adjustments to its hand luggage size restrictions, but Ryanair's marketing head, Jade Kirwan, firmly stated that the rules have remained unchanged for the past ten years; any increased scrutiny at the boarding gates is simply an enforcement of those existing policies. Ryanair is also dealing with legal issues in Spain, where it, along with other budget airlines, was fined for what authorities deemed "abusive practices," including charges related to hand luggage.