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A woman thought everything was going swimmingly as she "breezed through" airport security, on her way to have some fun in the sun.

Then things took an unfortunate turn, with no fewer than 12 passengers forced to pay £46 while boarding, all because they'd taken the wrong sort of suitcase.

According to journalist Emily Chaplin, who was flying out from Birmingham Airport,she was travelling with Ryanair as she had done multiple times before, while noting she'd "never witnessed such strict enforcement of this rule".

While a number of Emily's passengers ended up having a glum start to their holidays,their all too common blunder could have been easily avoided. In a piece originally penned for Birmingham Live, here's what Emily saw, including her advice on how you too can dodge a frustrating fine...

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"We breezed through security at Birmingham Airport in a mere 45 minutes, which felt like a godsend on a May Bank Holiday Monday, especially after hearing tales of three-hour queues and passengers missing their flights. It seemed as though the travel Gods were smiling upon us, promising a seamless journey to sunny Tenerife - or so we believed.

"Our gate number had just flashed up on the board, prompting us to leave Wetherspoons immediately to grab some sun cream and a drink from Boots along the way. Upon reaching our gate, we were met with a lengthy queue, and it quickly became apparent why progress was so sluggish.

"A secondary mini queue was forming behind a blue metal box at the passport check desk, where a woman was frantically attempting to stuff her overflowing backpack into the top section of the crate. My heart dropped.

"It seemed every other passenger was being pulled aside to verify if their bag complied with the size restrictions stipulated in their booking. I was well aware of Ryanair's stringent luggage limits - I'd even purchased a perfectly-sized backpack from Amazon to avoid shelling out extra for an upgrade, and spent considerable time rolling my clothes to fit five days' worth into it.

"Despite having flown with Ryanair numerous times before, I'd never witnessed such strict enforcement of this rule. The lady in front of us presented her passport and boarding pass to the desk attendant, who then asked her to fit her clearly oversized suitcase into the measuring box sideways. It was a futile attempt.

"You'll have to pay £46 to bring the bag on board," the Ryanair employee informed her. "But I was allowed this last time I flew with Ryanair," the passenger argued back. "It's just Ryanair policy," the staff member retorted, her monotone voice indicating she'd probably repeated the same line countless times that day.

"Next in line, I nervously handed over my passport and removed my bulging backpack from my shoulder for inspection. Doubts crept in as I questioned whether it would still measure up to the required 40x20x25cm, especially after packing that extra beach dress. She gave it a quick glance and let us through. Relief washed over me.

"In the ensuing 15 minutes before we were permitted to board, we observed numerous others having their luggage measured. A total of 12 (yes, we kept count) had to cough up additional fees when their bags failed to meet the size requirements. One woman, burdened with an overstuffed backpack, resorted to removing clothes from her bag and layering them onto her outfit to reduce its weight. Her strategy worked, and she was allowed to proceed without any extra charges.

"Another group donning 'Girls' Trip - Tenerife 2024' t-shirts tried to dispute the fee. From our eavesdropping, it appeared they had added the baggage option to their return flight but overlooked it for the outbound one. They ended up having to fork out the money nonetheless. I sympathised with them. A simple blunder had made a significant hole in their holiday budget and cast a shadow over the start of their journey - though nothing that a few Proseccos on the plane couldn't remedy.

"I'm uncertain if Ryanair is tightening its luggage regulations universally, or if my encounter was an isolated incident, but it's something to bear in mind if you're planning to fly soon. It starts from £6 to add a larger cabin bag and upgrade to Priority Boarding when booking, so if you find packing light a challenge, it might be worth considering to save yourself a cool 40 quid."

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com

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