The Recent Irish Times Pricewatch column highlighted an experience where a passenger felt they met the “cold hard corporate face” of Ryanair during a stressful bag check-in process.
The consumer column, edited by Conor Pope, regularly features reader grievances regarding hidden fees, rigid digital booking flows, and steep penalties. [
A reader named Josephine attempted to book a 20kg suitcase. She faced stress and slow confirmation times within her banking authentication app. Uncertain if the transaction went through, she went through the process again and ended up paying two identical amounts of €102.
Ryanair flatly rejected any systemic or app-based fault, a stance typical of their responses in Pricewatch features. The airline firmly attributed the situation to passenger error rather than a digital glitch. They explicitly warned the public to “stop inventing spurious claims” regarding their booking app, infrastructure, or customer notifications. [1,
Starting November 10, 2026, Ryanair is extending its airport check-in and bag drop closing deadline from 40 minutes to 1 hour before departure, forcing passengers to arrive much earlier. The airline has faced ongoing criticism for intense gate measurements where a bag even 1cm too large can trigger a €70 to €75 gate fee.
