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Ryanair deals baggage blow to winter sun seekers

Monday, 2 August 20103 min read

Passengers flying with Ryanair to the Canary Islands will have to pay peak season prices for check-in baggage all year round, the airline announced today.

Ryanair said that while its prices for check-in baggage on all other routes will revert to £15 (£25 for heavy bags) on September 1, baggage fees on flights to the Canaries will not be reduced.

Passengers flying to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Fuerteventura will have to pay £20 per bag (£30 for heavy bags) each way unless they avoid the charges altogether by travelling with only hand luggage.

The cheeky airline claimed it was sticking with the higher fees on flights to the Canaries throughout the winter ‘to encourage passengers to travel light’.

"By increasing our optional checked-in baggage fees this summer the number of checked-in bags reduced while passenger numbers increased," said spokesman Stephen McNamara.

Almost 70% of Ryanair’s Canary Islands passengers will be unaffected by these changes because they already travel without checked-in bags.”

By Linsey McNeill