Ryanair delays stricter cabin bag policy

Ryanair has delayed its stricter cabin bag policy in the latest turnabout by the beleagured budget airline. The company told its passengers in September that from 1 November they would have to pay GBP5 for priority boarding to avoid having their main cabin bag checked in to the hold at their departure gate. Following the flight cancellations fiasco that grounded 400,000 ticket holders, however, and a continuing fight with pilots over pay, Ryanair said it would delay the new bag policy until mid-January. The airline said customers needed more time to get used to the policy, particularly with the busy Christmas period just weeks away. Ryanair’s head of marketing, Kenny Jacobs, said: “We will delay the introduction of our new cabin bag rules until 15 January 2018, to allow our customers more time to familiarise themselves with the policy changes.” The new policy will prevent passengers from bringing a wheelie-size bag into the aircraft unless they have paid for priority boarding. Passengers who have not done so can still go to the departure gate with a wheelie bag and a small secondary bag – such as a handbag – but the larger bag will be taken away and put in the hold. Travellers will then have to wait at their destination airport for the bag to be delivered on carousels. Ryanair is also increasing the maximum weight for checked-in luggage from 15kg to 20kg.<br/>