Ryanair and Other Airlines Reward Staff for Catching Oversized Luggage
Ryanair has been revealed to offer financial incentives to its staff for identifying and reporting oversized cabin bags, with employees potentially earning up to €80 a month through this initiative. A leaked payslip highlighted the existence of a ‘gate bag bonus’ system, where one former employee reportedly earned around €1.50 for each oversized bag they flagged. However, the monthly bonus was capped, according to the Sunday Times.
The airline confirmed that it does provide commissions to staff who detect and charge passengers for oversized items. Passengers can be charged up to €75 per oversized bag caught at the gate. Despite confirming the scheme, Ryanair has not disclosed the exact amount paid to employees as part of the ‘gate bag bonus’.
A spokesperson for the airline stated: “We do pay commission to our agents who identify and charge for oversized bags, but these fees are paid by less than 0.1 per cent of passengers who don’t comply with our agreed bags rules. Our message to those 0.1 per cent of passengers is simple: please comply with our generous bag rules or you will be charged at check-in or at the gate. For the 99.9 per cent of our passengers who comply with our rules we say thank you and keep flying as you have nothing to worry about.”
Currently, Ryanair allows one small bag measuring 40 x 20 x 25cm free of charge, provided it fits under the seat. A second, larger cabin bag (up to 10kg) comes with a fee starting at €6. However, the airline announced earlier this month that it will increase the size of free hand luggage to 40 x 30 x 20cm, aligning with upcoming EU rules that will ban airlines from charging for small carry-ons. These regulations, however, have not yet taken effect.
This revelation comes just months after Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, Dara Brady, denied the existence of such commissions. In April, he told Ireland’s Virgin Media News: “We don’t pay our staff commission for bags. [The policy] is about protecting the amount of bags we can bring on board. We can only take a limited amount of bags on board, so our staff have to be very conscious of the bag sizes that people are taking. I reiterate that there’s been no change in the Ryanair bag policy and if people travel with the right size bags, well you’ll have a great flight with Ryanair.”
But Ryanair is not the only airline offering financial rewards for catching oversized luggage. An internal email leaked earlier this year showed that easyJet also runs a similar bonus scheme. The message, sent to employees at Swissport, which manages gates for easyJet at several UK airports, confirmed agents would earn £1.20 per oversized bag caught at the gate—£1 after tax. This ‘easyJet gate bag revenue incentive’ is reportedly still active at airports including Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow, Jersey, Liverpool, and Newcastle.
Swissport’s Dean Martin, a station manager at Glasgow Airport, explained that the payments were designed to “reward agents doing the right thing.” The practice extends beyond easyJet. At airports like Gatwick, Bristol, and Manchester, DHL Supply Chain workers are also believed to receive a “nominal amount” for each oversized bag detected.
These practices highlight how airlines are increasingly relying on staff to enforce strict baggage policies, often resulting in additional charges for passengers who fail to comply. While some may view these bonuses as an effective way to ensure compliance, others argue that they place an unfair burden on travelers who may not be aware of the rules. As more airlines adopt similar strategies, it remains to be seen how these policies will evolve in response to changing consumer expectations and regulatory developments.
