The cost of checking in a bag is being raised to an almighty £20by Ryanair for passengers flying during the summer peak. This new price will apply to passengers travelling in July and August and will come into force for all bookings made after midnight tonight.

The move is to encourage passengers to use the free 10kg carry-on baggage allowance and therefore travel lighter.

A spokesman said: “Ryanair is determined to incentivise passengers to travel light this summer by increasing our checked-in baggage fees for the months of July and August only.

“These baggage fees, which are avoidable by passengers, will apply to bookings made after midnight (24:00hrs) Wednesday for travel in July and August.

“From 1st September the checked-in bag fee will return to its current level of £15.

“Over 70% of all Ryanair passengers will be unaffected by these changes because they travel with no checked-in bags.”

I’d be interested to know what passengers really think about this hike to encourage lighter travelling, and whether it really won’t affect 70% of customers.