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Ryanair is set to make a major change to the £65 baggage charge rule, boosting staff bonuses for catching passengers with oversized baggage.

Michael O'Leary is set to increase the rewards handed to employees who charge travellers for carrying oversized luggage onto flights.

The chief executive revealed that following reports his staff were being incentivised to catch passengers out, the number of travellers flagged for oversized baggage had actually declined.

Staff at the budget carrier currently pocket €2.50, roughly £2.17, for every oversized bag they spot.

Passengers caught out are required to pay an additional €75 (£65).

According to The Times, the proposed change could see workers receive a €3.50 bonus for each passenger they catch. This incentive was already raised in November 2025, up from €1.50.

"The number of outsized bags is falling from, I don't know, 0.0001 [per cent] to 0.00001," O'Leary said.

"As the numbers fall, I think we will up the rate of commission, from €2.50 to €3.50 or so.

"Everybody must know, do not show up with a bag that doesn't fit in the sizer because you will be charged."

All fares include one small personal bag (40 x 30 x 20 cm) that must fit beneath the seat.

Cabin bags are available to purchase and may weigh up to 10kg, with the (55x40x20cm) item required to fit in the overhead locker.

When the bonus increase was announced last year, O'Leary stated that around 200,000 passengers annually are charged extra for placing carry-on luggage in the hold, adding he has no sympathy for "chancers" trying to bring "rucksacks" aboard.

The chief executive added: "We're the airline with the lowest air fares in Europe,

"Those are our rules. Please comply with the rules, as 99.9% of our 200 million passengers do, and you won't have any problem."

He maintained that if travellers "comply with the bag rules then everyone will board faster" and there will be "fewer flight delays".

The statement follows comments from the Ryanair boss suggesting that airport bars ought to cease serving alcohol during early morning hours.

The chief executive claimed his carrier is being compelled to reroute flights almost on a daily basis due to intoxicated, aggressive travellers.

Bars in airports are not subject to the same licensing regulations as establishments outside these settings.

Mr O'Leary argued that altering this would benefit his airline and others by helping to eliminate aggressive conduct in the air.