Ryanair allegedly charged the passenger a bizarre fee. Another catch? The carrier denies this

The case was described over the weekend by the British Tabloid, citing reports from its readers who claimed that the airline’s system, during online check-in, asked them to buy a seat on board (which in Great Britain costs from 8 to 21 pounds). Those who refused were not to receive a boarding pass – they were asked to stand in line at the airport and collect a printed boarding pass, the newspaper reported. Moreover, Ryanair allegedly offered them a seat on board again, which was to avoid queues at the airport.

A bizarre fee in Ryanair? Complaints from British passengers

British passengers are outraged. “Just when you thought Ryanair couldn’t go any lower, they find a way to force you to buy a seat. Is it even legal,” asks one traveler, quoted by the Daily Mail. “Isn’t online check-in meant to avoid queues at the airport?” – he adds. An Italian tourist interviewed by the newspaper, who, as he explains, struggled with the same problem, wonders what is included in the ticket price, since you have to pay extra for a seat on board anyway. Similar complaints also appeared on social media.

Ryanair denies: passengers were never asked to pay

Ryanair quickly responded to the allegations. He claims that the alleged practice described by the daily is complete nonsense. A spokesman for the carrier declared that “passengers were never asked to pay for collecting boarding passes.” – All Ryanair passengers can pay for their reserved seat if they so wish, and if they wish to avoid this fee, they can choose a randomly assigned seat completely free of charge – declared an airline spokesman, quoted by the BBC.

This was also confirmed by Alicja Wójcik-Gołębiowska, Ryanair’s country manager in Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries, in an interview – This information is false. There are no fees for your Ryanair digital boarding pass. Each Ryanair passenger can pay a fee to select a specific seat on the plane, if necessary, or opt for a free random seat assignment, said Wójcik-Gołębiowska.

There are places where a smartphone is not enough

However, practice shows that online check-in – although free – is not always possible. Some airports (mainly outside Europe) do not accept mobile boarding passes or even traditional cards shown on smartphone screens. However, this problem is nothing new and has been known for many years, and airlines (not only Ryanair) usually clearly inform before departure that a given airport does not allow passengers to check in with only a smartphone in hand.

Both Ryanair and Wizzair present a list of such airports on their websites (including airports in Morocco and Israel). In such a case, travelers must stand in line for a traditional paper boarding pass (available for free) or check in online and print such a document before arriving at the airport (depending on the city and carrier).