Aussie traveller who was charged $90 for not checking in early enough for Ryanair flight shares little-known detail everyone should know
- Traveller charged €55 ($90 AUD) for not checking in to flight early enough
- Lachlan Harris was travelling with Ryanair to Greece from Croatia
- Travellers must check in up to two hours before departure
A traveller was left feeling disgruntled at a European airport after being handed a fee for not checking in online prior to a short-haul flight.
Lachlan Harris and two friends were travelling from Croatia to Greece with low-cost airline Ryanair but missed their 6am flight.
After booking another flight departing later that same day, the young Australian was charged €55 ($90 AUD) for not checking in online before departure.
Feeling annoyed, Lachlan alerted others on TikTok of the little-known detail in the fine print.
According to the Ryanair terms and conditions of carriage, travellers must check in up to two hours before the scheduled departure time. Boarding passes must be either printed or downloaded through the Ryanair app.
Customers travelling with Ryanair cannot check in online during the two hours before your flight’s scheduled departure time.
Lachlan Harris (pictured) and two friends were charged €55 ($90 AUD) each for not checking in early enough before their flight from Croatia to Greece via Ryanair
According to the Ryanair terms and conditions of carriage, travellers must check in up to two hours before the scheduled departure time – though Lachlan wasn’t aware of this rule
‘This is a quick shout out to anyone travelling in Europe with Ryanair. Do the online check-in,’ he said in the TikTok video while recording himself walking around the airport.
‘We missed our 6am flight this morning. So it cost us $1000 to get another flight later in the day to go to Greece. Now we’re at the airport – didn’t check-in online.’
Lachlan explained he spoke to a Ryanair employee behind the airport desk to check-in only to be told he has to pay a fee.
‘Here’s the f****** catch – €55 ($90 AUD) for them to do their job. For them to sit there and check me in even though they’re employed to do it.’
He then whips out the Ryanair receipt with a €165 charge ($272 AUD) for three people.
‘I’m already on a tight enough budget as it is and they don’t f****** tell you about that,’ Lachlan said.
In the short clip, he sounded frustrated and irritated about the whole situation, but others thanked him for sharing the insight.
But Lachlan wasn’t the only traveller this has happened to – others also complained they too have been charged a fee for the same reason when flying via Ryanair.
‘This has happened to me twice now in the past two months. It’s so f*****. They literally click a button and give you a ticket,’ one TikToker commented.
‘It’s so bad. They charged me and my boyfriend €32 ($57 AUD) each,’ another said.
‘Thank f*** I saw this before my Ryanair flight in August,’ a third added.
Others showed no sympathy towards Lachlan with many saying she should’ve looked over the terms and conditions beforehand.
‘Don’t book with a budget airline if you don’t want budget service,’ one person said.
‘Just try reading your emails,’ another added, one said: ‘Read the fine print sounds like a you problem.’
A fourth said: ‘I’m happy I read their email that said it would cost you if you didn’t check in online.’