I was charged £50 at the airport by Ryanair for an item that was definitely not in my hand luggage

If you've ever taken to the skies with Ryanair, you'll be familiar with the routine - bargain flights, stringent luggage regulations and the constant worry of being stung at the gate. As one of Ireland's most renowned companies, the airline has transformed budget travel, offering European flights for less than the cost of a night on the town.

However, as many travellers have found out, these wallet-friendly fares can rapidly inflate due to Ryanair's infamous additional charges. We all know someone who has been caught out by Ryanair's baggage policy, whether it's an unsuspecting friend hit with a hefty fee at the boarding gate or a relative frantically repacking their suitcase in the middle of the airport.

With the current cost of living crisis, more people are trying to cram everything into their free 'small bag' allowance to dodge costly extras wherever they can. But the risk is ensuring that bag adheres to Ryanair's strict 40 x 20 x 25cm dimensions - or face the dreaded yellow sticker of shame and an unexpected charge.

This was precisely the predicament Mirror journalist Ruby Flanagan found herself in during a recent journey through Dublin Airport. Unlike most passengers penalised for oversized luggage, Ruby's fee wasn't due to an extra bag, an overfilled backpack or a suitcase that wouldn't fit in the sizer.

The £50 (€60) charge was attributed to something even more absurd - a water bottle. What ensued was a perplexing and exasperating ordeal that left her questioning the extent of Ryanair's rules, reports the Irish Mirror.

Below, Ruby shares her experience.

I recently found myself €60 out of pocket due to an unexpected run-in with Ryanair's baggage policy. Surprisingly, the fee wasn't for an oversized bag as is often the case, but for carrying a water bottle.

The Irish carrier is famed for its bargain flight fares for international travel, yet it's equally notorious for imposing exorbitant additional fees. These charges frequently target passengers who are deemed to have exceeded their luggage allowance at the boarding gate, and I unfortunately fell prey to this on my latest jaunt to Dublin.

A swift glance at social media platforms reveals the widespread frustration over baggage fees and the sheer number of travellers affected by them. I had taken a brief break to catch up with pals in the Irish capital and decided that for such a short stay, a backpack would suffice.

I purchased a "non-priority" ticket, which entitled me to bring one "small" bag—measuring no more than 40 x 20 x 25cm—that could fit under the seat in front. The total cost for a round trip was a mere £35.86 (€43), which seemed like a steal.

Last year, I snagged a backpack from Amazon that perfectly matched the airline's baggage size requirements and it's been my trusty travel companion on numerous journeys without any hitches. Confidently, I planned to use it once more.

On Saturday, February 1, at the crack of dawn, 5.30am, I breezed through Stansted Airport as the Ryanair gate staff scanned my boarding pass without a glitch. With my backpack secured and water bottle hitched to the top handle, I made my way to the flight, oblivious to the ordeal that awaited me just three days later.

Returning from Dublin with a throat so sore I sounded like a lifelong smoker, I arrived at the gate for my flight back to Stansted at 12.05pm. The gate had closed at 11.30am, but with just an aisle seat and my backpack, I lingered until about 20 past before heading through.

Passport and boarding pass in hand, I was stopped in my tracks by a tap on the shoulder. "You need to put your bag in here," instructed a Ryanair employee, gesturing towards the sizing box.

Complying, I managed to fit the bag with a gentle push. As I slung it back over my shoulder, the staff member sternly indicated my water bottle, now strapped across my body, and declared: "That will need to go in the bag."

In a raspy voice, I queried if such a step was really necessary, given that it hadn't been required on my incoming flight. The crew member explained firmly that all extras must be stashed inside my bag when boarding the flight and directed me back to the departure area.

Feeling increasingly flustered, I clumsily tried to cram the 750ml metal water bottle into my already bulging luggage. I was but one among several passengers stopped by the Ryanair staff, all of us scrambling to reorganise our belongings.

After rearranging contents and pushing the bottle in, my bag sported an awkward bulge as the zip strained to remain sealed. Reapproaching the gate, I had to rescan my boarding pass only to be halted once more by a staff member who bluntly stated, "That bag is too big. You'll need to go over there and pay to get on the flight."

Baffled, I questioned why the water bottle couldn't just travel in my hand as before.

I was starting to feel quite the troublesome flyer. In response, I received a lecture on how the water bottle had to fit inside the bag; otherwise, it counted as a 'second bag', something not covered by my ticket type.

Confounded, I reiterated my point, stressing the words "water bottle".

The bemusement hit me like a train as I witnessed fellow travellers with laptops, Burger King feasts, and snuggly travel pillows glide through without any fuss. At that juncture, I must admit, I morphed into the type of disgruntled customer reminiscent of scenes from the 1990s programme 'Airline'.

The entire situation just baffled me. It wasn't just me either; other passengers singled out by Ryanair staff voiced similar protests, echoing my reasoning, "I flew here with the bag like this, why can't I fly back? " There ensued animated debates filled with extravagant hand gestures, exasperated eye rolls, repeated mutterings of "dimensions", and a lot of accusatory pointing – specifically towards the gentleman at the gate with the card machine who awkwardly beckoned us over.

When Ryanair unceremoniously sealed the gate for our flight, panic set in hard and fast. I had never faced the nightmare of missing a flight before – or more accurately being barred from one by airline personnel.

Desperately, I asked, "What am I supposed to do? " The reply came as a cold comfort, "You'll have to pay for it either way," a staff member informed me, stressing, "out, it's a second bag and in, the bags too big, so you'll need to pay."

With the flight set to depart in just 15 minutes, I realised I hadn't settled into my seat yet. In a last-minute rush, I headed over to the official with the card, handed over €60, and was promptly adorned with the so-called yellow sticker of shame on my backpack – a badge 'earned' by those who had failed to grasp Ryanair's strict baggage policy or chose to disregard it.

I wasn't alone either; at least four of us got stung on this flight, which means Ryanair pocketed an extra £200 (€239) from our collective oversight. Just ten minutes before take-off, another fellow traveller with the unwanted yellow badge and I dashed down towards the plane.

Turns out, her cabin bag had newly fallen foul of the rulebook – oversize by just a few centimetres because of its handle – and despite having used it two days earlier from Stansted without issue, it was now being sent to the hold. She was livid, venting to me and the staff member consigning her bag to the cargo, to which he replied with: "I can't tell you how many times we do this each day, I honestly don't know how it works."

Finally, after sprinting to my seat, I collapsed into it, panting and shaking – bewildered and incredibly frustrated by the whole ordeal, struggling to make sense of it all.

During a brief 50-minute flight back to London, I had an epiphany that discarding my water bottle and purchasing a new one for £25 (€30) upon arrival would have been more cost-effective. This realisation was frustrating, to say the least, but tossing the bottle would have been a blatant disregard for the environment—not to mention it would have robbed me of the pride in contributing to the over one-millionth plastic bottle saved from landfill by opting to refill.

Kudos to Dublin Airport for sharing that commendable statistic with me.

Once I touched down, I trudged to my coach and promptly filled out a complaint form directed at Ryanair concerning the fee incurred due to my water bottle being separate from my carry-on. Ryanair's initial response acknowledged that I was "disputing a baggage fee charged for carrying a water bottle separate from your carry-on bag" before they dismissed my complaint, parroting the terms listed on their baggage policy webpage verbatim.

After recounting this tumultuous ordeal to my colleagues, I decided to escalate the matter to Ryanair's press office. I was curious whether there was any distinction between bringing my own water bottle and acquiring one at the airport—would the latter have passed without issue?

Moreover, I queried whether this regulation extended to neck pillows, scarves, umbrellas, and other items typically attached to bags during travel.

The baggage policy simply states: "All our fares include one small personal bag which can be brought on board, such as a handbag, backpack, or laptop bag (40x20x25cm), which must fit under the seat in front of you."

Despite reaching out for clarification, Ryanair did not specifically address the issue regarding whether a water bottle carrier bag could be brought onto a flight separately. The airline stated instead that under their current policy, such an item would need to fall within a passenger's baggage allowance.

Details on how to include a water bottle carrier in future bookings remain unclear, but an update to this article is promised when more information emerges.

Ryanair's response was clear-cut: "This passenger booked a Basic Fare ticket for this flight from Dublin to Stansted (4 Feb), which allowed them to carry a small personal bag onboard. This passenger attempted to board with an additional carry-on, and as it would not fit within their permitted bag, she was correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee (€60). Once payment was made, this passenger travelled on this flight from Dublin to Stansted (4 Feb)."

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