Ryanair has issued a warning to passengers who typically fly with black, navy or grey suitcases, urging them to 'change' their luggage to avoid any confusion when they land. The budget carrier advised travellers to make their checked-in bags more distinctive on the carousel given the prevalence of these colours.
What Ryanair says
Ryanair said: "Make it easier to spot your checked-in luggage on the carousel, especially if your luggage is black, navy or grey (like 99.9 percent of the population). Add a colourful luggage tag or ribbon to the handle so that there's no confusion on arrival."
Ryanair also recommends passengers create copies of their passport, driving licence, and/or ID card and email them to themselves. It's also suggested to photograph these documents and store them on your phone for offline access at your destination.
Ryanair's growth and UK operations
The airline continues to grow, carrying a record 208.4 million passengers in its latest full financial year – a four per cent increase on the previous year. However, the budget airline has also been cutting back at some European airports, with Ryanair withdrawing or reducing flights in certain locations. The airline has pointed to factors including aviation taxes and airport charges. Despite this, the UK remains a key part of Ryanair's expansion plans.
Its winter 2026 schedule includes 435 routes, with three new services from London Stansted and a new route between London Luton and Venice. A further 18 new routes have also been added from other UK airports. The carrier transports an estimated 52 million passengers to and from the UK annually with its fleet of 107 UK-based aircraft.
In June, Ryanair experienced a spike in passenger numbers with 19.3 million people opting to fly with them across one of their 106,000 flights. This marked the first occasion the airline transported more than 19 million travellers and an 11 per cent rise compared to June 2023. The airline also pulled out all the stops for England fans during the Three Lions' Euro 2024 run, laying on over 1,500 extra seats to and from Berlin for the cup final.
