Knowing what you can and can’t pack for a plane ride is very often the difference between a smooth and shambolic journey through airport security and to your destination of choice.
But one item that millions have on them every single day is in fact banned from being in your bags by one of the UK’s most popular airlines.
Ryanair is one of the busiest airlines in the world, with 169 million people taking to the skies with the budget Irish travel company in the 2022/2023 financial year. This was up a massive 74 percent on the year before.
That includes newer destinations such as the ‘most underrated place in Europe’ where you can enjoy a long weekend for £200.
There are also £17 flights to the ‘Hawaii of Europe’ and £15 trips to a ‘postcard’ Spanish town with €2 pints just 20 minutes from Benidorm.
If you choose to travel with them, there are rules and regulations you have to follow. And they’re strict, given how serious airline travel has become in the last two and a half decades.
And one banned item might confuse you, given you are allowed to bring it through airport security in the first place.
Inside a Ryanair plane (Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
UK airport security systems are currently undergoing a major revamp to get rid of the 100ml liquid limit once and for all.
The technology has already been rolled out in a number of UK airports – although not every airport is ready to go, with some not fully operational until 2025.
It’s simply going to take time, with one airport ready to go already having to warn passengers before they pack their bags.
Under the 100ml rule, those going through airport security must keep all liquids in containers capped at 100ml. Everything must also fit in a 20cm by 20cm clear, plastic bag.
And it’s those plastic bags that find us at odds with Ryanair without even maybe realising.
Ryanair is as busy as it gets when it comes to international travel (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Under government rules on airports, travellers can carry one lighter on board their flight.
“You should put it inside a resealable plastic bag (like the ones used for liquids), which you must keep on you throughout the flight,” so says Gov.uk travel advice.
But the government is also clear that you cannot then put the lighter in your hand luggage after security screening. So if you put it in your hand bag or cabin bag, you’re technically breaking the law.
Ryanair’s ‘prohibited items’ section of its website says ‘you must not carry any of the following items in checked-in luggage or carry-on baggage, or go through security with them on you (for example in your pockets)’.
And on that list, one of the ‘prohibited items’ not allowed in any of your cabin bags is a lighter.
It’s slightly nuanced, but the rules are clear in the sense that you can take a lighter on the plane, but only if it stays on your body. If you put it back in to any luggage that’s also gone through security, you’re breaking the rules of the government and airline.
LADbible approached Ryanair for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via Getty Images/Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Topics:Â Europe, Holiday, Ryanair, Travel, UK News, Health, World News