Ryanair's new hand-luggage policy effective from Monday

Until now, all passengers were allowed to take into the cabin a bag or suitcase measuring a maximum of 55 x 40 x 20 centimetres and weighing no more than 10 kilos, plus a smaller, 'personal' bag no more than 35 x 20 x 20 centimetres or a duty-free shopping bag, but not both.

On busy flights where space is limited, the larger cabin bag would be labelled at the departure gate and the owner would give it to the baggage handlers on the tarmac as they boarded so it could be stowed in the hold, at no extra charge.

Only the first 90 large hand-luggage bags are permitted in the cabin due to space restrictions.

Fees for checking in hand luggage at the departure gate are €50, but only charged where the bag in question is larger than the maximum size stated.

Now, however, all passengers who do not pay for priority boarding will have to be prepared to relinquish their 55 x 40 x 20-centimetre case at the departure gate for it to be placed in the hold.

No extra charge will apply as long as the bag is of the right size.

They will only be able to take their 35 x 20 x 20-centimetre bag on board the aircraft, but must remove all laptops, iPads, Tablets and SmartPhones from their 'hold' case as these contain lithium batteries, which can cause a fire.

Priority boarding costs €5 online or €6 at the airport on the day of the flight, and those who pay it queue to get on first.

In practice, on flights with very few passengers where ample overhead locker space is available, it is likely Ryanair will allow the larger hand-luggage cases in the cabin.

And in recent times, passengers with two bags have been able to specifically request at the departure gate that their larger case goes in the hold, given that this is free of charge, they can see the bag being loaded and know that it is in the right place and being handled properly, and they do not then need to lug it around the cabin with them.

The downside is that they will then have to wait for their bag to come off the luggage carousel after landing.

To soften the blow, Ryanair has decreased its fee for checked-in luggage from €35 to €25 each way and increased the weight limit for a hold suitcase from 15 to 20 kilos.

The changes have two main reasons behind them – firstly, because of too many passengers abusing the rules by placing both their bags in the overhead locker, rather than, as is required, the smaller bag beneath the seat in front, and in some cases even placing loose coats and jackets in locker space designed for cases, leaving no room for passengers boarding later.

Secondly, the time taken for cabin crew to help rearrange over-filled lockers and load cases, and delays caused by passengers stuffing their cases into the lockers, mean some Ryanair flights are late taking off.

This can mean missing their take-off slot, delaying the flight and leading to the airline being fined; also, the less time the aircraft is on the ground, the less they have to pay in taxes.

As well as more flights landing on time – although 90% of Ryanair flights do so already – fewer costs resulting from take-off delays means potentially cheaper fares.