Ryanair has found a new way to motivate staff to enforce one of its most notorious rules: hand luggage size.
Starting in November, gate agents will pocket £2.50 every time they catch a passenger with an oversized bag—up from £1.50. The airline has also scrapped the monthly cap on these payouts, which previously topped out at £80. In practice, staff now earn unlimited bonuses for spotting rule-breakers.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s blunt-speaking CEO, summed it up in an interview with the BBC: “If people don’t follow the rules and try to board with an oversized bag, we will catch you, and I look forward to rewarding and giving bonuses to our staff who identify these oversized bags.”
The scale is large. Ryanair carries more than 200 million passengers a year, and about 200,000 of them end up paying extra when their bags don’t make the cut. The penalty can be steep—up to £75 depending on the route.
The rules themselves are strict. Right now, every passenger is allowed one small bag measuring 40 x 25 x 20 cm, with a maximum weight of 10 kg. From September, EU rules nudge that up slightly to 40 x 30 x 20 cm.
This bonus scheme fits neatly with Ryanair’s long-standing model: sell the cheapest fares upfront, then enforce fees ruthlessly on the back end. For staff, oversized bags are no longer just a hassle—they’re a direct payday. For passengers, the warning couldn’t be clearer. Measure your luggage, or risk funding someone else’s bonus.
Where Ryanair Flies in the Nordics
Sweden
- Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) is Ryanair’s main Nordic hub. As of 2023 it ran about 45 routes and 320 flights per week with five aircraft based there. Recent additions include Dublin, Porto, Vilnius, and Rhodes.
- Gothenburg Landvetter and Malmö also see regular Ryanair traffic. Domestic service between Arlanda and both cities launched in 2021, alongside international links from Gothenburg.
- Ryanair once had a base at Stockholm Skavsta (opened 2003), serving Oslo, Paris, Glasgow, Århus, and Tampere, but this is now history.
Finland
- At Helsinki (HEL), Ryanair’s 2025 schedule includes flights to Milan Bergamo, Venice, Brussels Charleroi, Rhodes, Thessaloniki, Warsaw, Dubrovnik, and Zadar.
- Tampere–Pirkkala used to host routes to Stansted, Riga, and Stockholm Skavsta, but by late 2023 the last London service was discontinued.
Norway and Denmark
- In Norway, Ryanair serves Oslo Gardermoen and links passengers to Riga, Tallinn, and other destinations via Nordic bases.
- In Denmark, Ryanair shut its Billund base in early 2025 after new aviation taxes made operations less profitable. Aalborg flights were also cut. The airline still flies from Copenhagen and Aarhus.
Estonia and Iceland
- Ryanair connects Tallinn into its wider network, often via Stockholm Arlanda.
- Iceland is absent from the map—no direct Ryanair flights link it to the Nordics. Travelers use other carriers like Finnair instead.
Quick Reference
| Country | Airports currently served by Ryanair | Notes |
| Sweden | Stockholm Arlanda (major base), Gothenburg, Malmö | Skavsta base closed |
| Finland | Helsinki | Tampere routes discontinued |
| Norway | Oslo Gardermoen | Mostly international links |
| Denmark | Copenhagen, Aarhus | Billund & Aalborg closed |
| Estonia | Tallinn (via Nordic routes) | Connected mainly through Arlanda |
| Iceland | None | Served indirectly via other airlines |