Ryanair staff receive financial incentives for identifying passengers attempting to board with oversized hand luggage, it has been revealed.
Workers earn approximately €1.50 (£1.30) for each non-compliant bag they report, with potential monthly earnings reaching €80 (£69.34) through this scheme.
This was revealed by a former employee's payslip obtained by the Sunday Times.
The budget carrier, which generated €13billion (£11.27billion) in revenue during the previous year, acknowledged that employees receive monetary rewards for enforcing baggage regulations.
PA
|Ryanair had previously denied having such payment incentives in place
Passengers face penalties of up to €75 (£65) when their luggage exceeds the airline's strict dimensional requirements at boarding gates.
This payment structure directly conflicts with statements made by Dara Brady, Ryanair's chief marketing officer, during an April interview with Ireland's Virgin Media News.
"We don't pay our staff commission for bags," Brady stated at the time, adding that the policy "is about protecting the amount of bags we can bring on board."
He emphasised that employees needed to monitor luggage dimensions carefully but maintained "there's been no change in the Ryanair bag policy and if people travel with the right size bags, well you'll have a great flight with Ryanair."
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|Workers earn approximately €1.50 (£1.30) for each non-compliant bag they report
The carrier has declined to disclose specific payment amounts for its "gate bag bonus" programme, though a representative confirmed the practice exists.
The spokesman said: "We do pay commission to our agents who identify and charge for oversized bags, but these fees are paid by less than 0.1 per cent of passengers who don't comply with our agreed bags rules."
The airline permits one complimentary small bag measuring 40 x 20 x 25cm that must fit beneath the seat, whilst a larger 10kg cabin bag incurs charges beginning at €6 (£5.20).
Ryanair plans to expand free luggage dimensions to 40 x 30 x 20cm to comply with forthcoming EU regulations prohibiting fees for small carry-on items.
EasyJet operates a comparable incentive system, as revealed in leaked internal correspondence earlier this year.
Swissport employees managing easyJet gates at multiple UK airports receive £1.20 before tax for each oversized bag detected, according to an email from Dean Martin, a station manager at Glasgow Airport.
The "easyJet gate bag revenue incentive" remains active at Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow, Jersey, Liverpool and Newcastle airports, with Martin describing the payments as rewards for "agents doing the right thing."
DHL Supply Chain personnel working at Gatwick, Bristol and Manchester airports reportedly receive a "nominal amount" for each non-compliant bag they identify.