RyanAir Baggage Fees & Tips to Cover the Expenses

- UPDATED: August 25, 2019

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RyanAir does things a bit differently with their baggage policy. As you’ll see below, Economy passengers booking a Standard or Flexi Plus fare pay for each piece of luggage, while Business members are allowed one free bag.

It’s also important to note fees increase when buying via the call center or at the airport so be sure to purchase online prior to your travel date.

Table of contents

RyanAir Carry-On Allowance
RyanAir Checked Baggage Allowance
Additional / Excess Baggage Fees
Can I Pre-pay for Baggage?
Credit Cards That Reimburse You For Checked Bag Fees
Exclusions/Waivers

Table of Contents

RyanAir Carry-On Allowance
RyanAir Checked Baggage Allowance
Additional / Excess Baggage Fees
Can I Pre-pay for Baggage?
Credit Cards That Reimburse You For Checked Bag Fees
Exclusions/Waivers

RyanAir Carry-On Allowance

RyanAir’s policy changed in 2018 now charging for a standard carry-on bag if booking a standard fare ticket.

1 personal item: FREE
1 standard carry-on bag: from €6-€12/£6-£12

Size Restrictions:

Personal: 40cm x 20cm x 25cm
Standard: 55cm x 40cm x 20cm (up to 10kg)

A carry-on bag that exceeds these restrictions will be placed in the hold and a fee of £50/€50 will be charged.

Plus, Flexi Plus or Family Plus fares include a personal item and a cabin bag within the ticket price.

Lap Infant Carry-On Policy

A baby bag up to 5kg may be carried by the accompanying adult in addition to their own cabin bag allowance when an infant (aged 8 days to 23 months) is traveling on an adult’s lap.

Stroller Check Policy

With RyanAir you can carry 2 items of baby equipment free of charge per child (1 pushchair plus one of the following items: car seat, booster seat, or travel-cot). Strollers/pushchairs can be used up to the aircraft steps and after landing, will be available at the aircraft steps.

RyanAir Checked Baggage Allowance

All checked bags must adhere to a max weight of 20kg; must adhere to max linear dimensions of 158cm.

Standard fare and Flexi Plus passengers do not receive any free baggage allowance and this must be booked at the following prices:

At time of booking:

10kg: €10-€17.50/£10-£17.50
20kg: €25/£25-€35/£35

Post Booking/Airport:

10kg: €10-€17.50/£10-£17.50 (post booking)
10kg: €20-€25/£20-£25 (at the gate)
20kg: €40/£40 (post booking)

Fare types with baggage included:

Plus: 1 bag (20kg)
Family Plus: 2 bags (20kg each)

Passengers may check up to three pieces of baggage.

Bags purchased via a call centre or at the airport will incur a €10 supplement per bag, per flight sector.

There is a €10 supplement on price during peak travel periods.

Additional / Excess Baggage Fees

Overweight Fee:

Currently: €11/£11 per Kilo *can only purchase at airport kiosk

Oversized Fee:

undisclosed

For baggage fees related to special luggage (sporting equipment, musical instruments, etc.) please refer to RyanAir’s policy here.

Can I Pre-pay for Baggage?

RyanAir does allow passengers the ability to pre-pay for luggage online during the booking (cheapest option) and post-booking process, via the mobile app or with their call centre.

Here are the ways to pre-pay:

Online during the booking process, or post-booking by logging in to your ‘myRyanAir account’ from the ‘My Bookings’ tab on the RyanAir website.
Download and log in to the RyanAir app
Contact the RyanAir call centre on +44 871 500 5050

Credit Cards That Reimburse You For Checked Bag Fees

RyanAir is a rapidly growing airline out of Ireland so if you visit Europe, there’s a decent chance you’ll fly with them. If you use one of the cards below you can get reimbursed for at least some of your checked bag fees.

Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card - This no annual fee card comes with a 20,000 mile welcome bonus (worth $200) once you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. When you use your card for travel purchases (e.g. baggage fees), use your miles to pay off all, or part of, your statement! This is why we like this card.

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card - The "big brother" card to the VentureOne® with a larger 50,000 welcome bonus (worth $500) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening and you'll earn 10X miles per $1 spent across thousands of hotels.

Exclusions/Waivers

RyanAir Business Plus fare passengers are allotted 1 FREE 20kg checked bag in the base fare price.
RyanAir Choice (annual membership) passengers get free Priority Boarding which includes a 10kg cabin bag.

To see more airline baggage fees and policies, click here.

FAQ

What is RyanAir's baggage policy?

RyanAir’s Standard fares do not include any baggage so these must be purchased. If you do this at the time of booking then a 20kg checked bag is €25/£25-€35/£35. If this is done post booking or at the airport then this increases to €40. A 10kg bag can also be booked from €10-€17.50/£10-£17.50. All bags must not exceed max linear dimensions of 158cm. Business Plus Fare passengers receive 1 20kg bag included in their fare and Family Plus bookings 2 x 20kg bags. Passengers may check up to 3 bags.

Can you carry a handbag as well as hand luggage on RyanAir?

RyanAir now only allows Standard Fare passengers to bring 1 personal item for free into the cabin. To bring a handbag as well as hand luggage then you would need to purchase extra carry-on from €6-€12/£6-£12. Carry-on baggage is included in Plus, Flexi Plus and Family Plus tickets.

What size handbag can I take on RyanAir?

With RyanAir, your personal item can measure up to 40cm x 20cm x 25cm. RyanAir does not specify any weight restrictions for this piece but you would need to be able to store this in the overhead compartment unassisted.

4 comments

Thomas Sigardson · April 5, 2019 · Reply

On Nov. 30, 2019, I received an email from you about my wife and my booked flight from Rome to Bucharest on 14 May 2019 and a return flight on 23 May 2019. There is a reservation of XXXXXX. At the time, there was no mention of checked luggage fees. If I read your FAQ’s right we may be charged 40 Euros each for each flight or 160 eruos, more than the costs of the flight, is this correct? Since all arrangements for trip have been made do I pay this at check-in? How does this work since I have to check-in via computer? I understand an extra fee but this does seem excessive or have I misunderstood? Thank you for your attention.

Erin Miller · April 5, 2019 · Reply
Hi Thomas, first and foremost let me be clear that **we are NOT RyanAir** and as such, did not send you said e-mail. I have also gone ahead and removed your reservation code here for your own privacy since this is a public forum and again, we are not Ryan Air so cannot assist you with that code.
All this being said, it is VERY common that an airline will charge baggage fees above and beyond your base fare price, especially for lower cost airlines like Ryan Air. If you want to dispute this or confirm the most accurate price for your luggage based on the fare type you purchased, we advise calling Ryan Air’s customer service line. As Upgraded Points, we have attempted to relay Ryan Air’s policies as best as possible for the purpose of this review, but again, since we are not the airline, they will always have the most accurate information on the topic.
In terms of how you pay your baggage fees, please see our “Can I pre-pay for baggage?” section above – this outlines how you would go about paying your baggage fees either online, via their mobile app or the call center.