Ryanair staff at Palma airport will be paid an unlimited bonuses of €2.50 for every non-compliant carry-on bag they take from passengers, the company has announced. Passengers whose cabin cases exceed the maximum size for a small suitcase are charged fees of up to £75 pounds sterling and their luggage is taken into the hold.
The heavy fines have outraged some travellers, especially when it emerged that staff at the boarding gate have been incentivised to spot for the larger bags.
Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, said the airline would be increasing the bonuses to keep baggage to the correct size. “We’re going to raise it from €1.50 to €2.50, probably from the start of the winter schedule in November this year,” he said. “And I make absolutely no apology for it whatsoever.”
O’Leary said the airline would also remove the cap on bonuses, currently €80 a month, to encourage staff to stop as many non-compliant bags as possible. “We should encourage people. I want our ground handling people to be catching people who are scamming the system.