A scheme beginning at John Lennon Airport in Liverpool pays airport staff a £5 bonus for every ten bags they identify as being too large to be taken as hand luggage.
The stricter procedure and the introduction of a bonus system is likely to make it tougher for customers to get away with cramming larger bags into the overhead lockers to avoid paying the extra costs incurred by budget airlines like Ryanair.
The excess baggage fine is normally around £40 per bag for a one-way trip, and is likely to bring in a healthy sideline profit – whereas airline staff Servisair are capped at receiving a maximum of £5 bonus per week.
A Servisair employee told The Liverpool Echo “We’re pleased to be honest. It means we can earn a few extra quid.
“If I now see a bag that could be on the borderline I say, ‘let’s have a look if that’s too big for the overhead lockers’.
“Whereas previously we might have let borderline baggage through, now we’ll be more stringent.”
Disgruntled consumer website ihateryanair.org said “This new rip-off at John Lennon Airport in Liverpool means that handlers now have a financial reward for ruining your day.”
Check out spoof website crynair.com for some satirical fun…
