Ryanair fined me £75 for my suitcase due to mind-bendingly ridiculous reason - even though it fit into their checker

Ryanair has been slammed after charging a woman an extra £75 for her luggage due to a 'mind-bendingly ridiculous' reason.

Catherine Warrilow, 45, was flying to Seville from London Stansted last month when she was told she couldn't board the plane with her suitcase.

Despite paying in advance for priority boarding with one cabin bag, Catherine was told it was 2cm 'too big' due to her suitcase's expandable zip.

However, when the suitcase was zipped shut, it fit within the sizing rack and met the budget airline's luggage requirements.

Catherine paid £170 for the airfare and eventually was charged more than £100 extra for her baggage, including paying to put it in the hold on her return flight.

She has now shared her story in a TikTok video , where it has racked up more than 400,000 views, saying: 'Ryanair have taken their bag charge scandal to a whole new level.'

Catherine said she was told at the check-in desk she either had to pay £75 or leave her suitcase behind.

The author, who lives in Oxford, claims she was told she couldn't board with it in case she had to 'kneel on it' to get it in the overhead locker.

She said: 'It had the potential to be bigger than the size allowance even though it fit within their sizing rack when closed. They weren't having it whatsoever.

'It doesn't make any sense. It seems like loads of other people are having problems with expandable zips and also just being picked on at random in the queue. Some people are getting on without any problem and some people are getting fined.'

When Catherine went to take her luggage to put it in the hold, nobody was there so she took it onboard as hand luggage anyway - even after paying the £75 fee. Once on the plane, she said it fit in the overhead locker after all.

'It's just mind-bendingly ridiculous,' she said, adding in another video: 'It seems like hundreds and hundreds of people have been impacted by rip-off decisions.'

People rushed to the comment section to share their own experiences and their despair at Ryanair's policies.

They said: 'That's like getting pulled by the police for speeding even if your not because your car has potential to go faster';

'Happened to us at Liverpool John Lennon because I put it in back to front, he wouldn't let me turn it round because he'd seen it. On the tarmac yellow sticker was removed by ground crew as nothing...';

'And paying the £75 makes it fit ok in the overhead locker?';

'So does that mean they'll be checking if you're All Inclusive or Self Catering & fining you because you have the potential to expand?';

'This is why I don't fly Ryanair';

'Once you add on these money-making fines then surely Ryanair and easyJet aren't any cheaper. Might as well use a proper airline?';

'Yup this happened to me in krakow, same suitcase I took from London but apparently on the way home it was too big , fuming.'

In a recent update, Catherine shared that she'd managed to get a full refund from the budget airline, plus £35 for the amount she paid to put it in the hold on the way home.

She said: 'I think it's absolutely time that Ryanair stop taking the mick and ripping people off. It's not fair.'

She told BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine: 'This "added extra" culture that we find ourselves wrapped up in is crazy.

'The problem is, it's very unclear. If I'd contacted Ryanair... to check that my case met the standard, then they would have said yes based on the measurements.

'I work in the travel sector, I travel a lot, I know the industry well. And I fear we're making it very difficult for people to travel without this huge added layer of stress.'

Researchers from Which? previously found that some British Airways flights proved cheaper than Ryanair and Wizz air once extra costs have been factored in.

Meanwhile passengers have been forced to take 'desperate' measures for their luggage, as airlines continue to raise the price of checked bags.

The moves have caused some passengers to get creative, stuffing whatever they can under their seat - which varies from airline to airline. Moreover, planes are getting smaller and smaller each year, at the cost of space for carry-ons.

In a previous statement, Ryanair said: 'This passenger purchased a Priority Fare which permits a small personal bag and a 10kg bag.

'As this passenger's bag exceeded the dimensions allowed for a 10kg cabin bag, she was correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee.'

FEMAIL has approached Ryanair for further comment.