Ryanair passengers flying to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Fuerteventura will have to pay peak season  baggage check-in costs all year round it was announced today.

This means that while check-in baggage prices on all other routes will revert to £15 (£25 for heavy bags) on 1st September, baggage fees on flights to the Canaries will remain at peak fees of £20 per bag (£30 for heavy bags) each way. The only way around the high fees is to travel with only hand luggage.

The airline claims that the move is ‘to encourage passengers to travel light’.

“By increasing our optional checked-in baggage fees this summer the number of checked-in bags reduced while passenger numbers increased,” said spokesman Stephen McNamara.

“Almost 70% of Ryanair’s Canary Islands passengers will be unaffected by these changes because they already travel without checked-in bags.”