From 15th January 2018 Ryanair’s new baggage policy has come into force. The new policy was introduced to combat slow boarding, which over the years, has caused a number of flight delays.
Europe’s biggest budget airline will still allow you to take two pieces of hand luggage through security and to the departure gate however, the larger case will be tagged at the departure gate and go into the hold for free. On arrival, passengers will need to wait at the airport baggage system for their remaining luggage to appear.
The only exception for this rule is if the passenger has paid £5 extra for priority boarding then they’ll be allowed to take both their bags on board the flight with them.
By implementing this new rule, Ryanair hope to improve flight punctuality.
They have also increased the maximum weight of each hold bag from 15kg to 20kg, allowing passengers to carry more than before.
Customers who refuse to put their second bag in the hold – because they are carrying valuables*, for example – will be refused boarding and will not be entitled to a refund. It is worth noting, travel insurance will not cover the cost of the holiday if you are refused boarding and not able to get to your destination.
Understandably, passengers are concerned about whether or not their belongings and more importantly their valuables* will be covered if they are forced to put them in the hold.
So, what cover can you expect from your travel insurance?
Travel insurance will not cover for valuables* that are not on your person, therefore we recommend you take possessions such as your money, travel documents, jewellery, phone, etc out of your case going in the hold and keep them with you. It is also a good idea to split medication between cases in case one goes missing.
Ryanair suggest if anything does go missing, in the hold, you should speak directly to the airline as they should honour your rights under the Montreal convention.