A father has expressed outrage after his party was hit with £270 in extra charges by Ryanair for their return flight from Spain to Manchester. The 27-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, was travelling with three others after a five-night all-inclusive holiday in Palma. They were each charged £30 for airport check-in and £38 for bag loading, despite having booked a £1,300 package through online travel agent On The Beach.
The man claimed he was not informed about the need to check in online before arriving at the airport. Upon arrival over two hours before departure, he was told he had only six minutes to check in. The check-in desk could not find his booking using the email address provided by On The Beach, leading to the £30 per person fee. The group then faced an additional £38 each to have their bags loaded, as they had not purchased priority boarding.
The father described the experience as 'stressful' and said it 'ruined' the trip. He noted that no such charges were applied at Manchester Airport on the outbound flight. He called for greater transparency, stating: 'They need to stick to one rule at every airport. I would much rather they told us when we were flying out at Manchester Airport, rather than be forced to pay money to get my own clothes back to England.'
On The Beach insisted that passengers were warned about potential airport check-in fees for failing to check in online, in line with Ryanair's policies. Ryanair attributed the issue to the booking being made through an 'unauthorised online travel agent' (OTA), stating that OTAs often provide incorrect contact details, leading to such problems. The airline urged customers to book directly to avoid similar issues.
The man said the charges left him and his friend struggling financially, with the friend having to pay on a credit card that they are still trying to pay off. He added: 'I'm a full-time dad, so any money I lose is less money for my son.'
