Ryanair may charge passengers £1 to use the toilet

Ryanair, the budget airline based in Dublin, Ireland, is considering charging passengers for using the toilet while flying.

Photo: An airplane toilet

According to Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, the carrier is looking at the possibility of installing toilet doors in its planes which can be opened only by inserting a one-pound coin.

Michael O’Leary told BBC television in an interview: “One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door on every one of the airline’s 168 Boeing 737 panes so that people might actually have to spend a pound ($1.43) to spend a penny in future.” 

He said Ryanair – which is the biggest budget airline in Europe – was considering again the idea of charging passengers for using the toilet “in these tough economic times” and that the pay toilet plan could result in lower fares.

This, O’Leary told BBC television, would not inconvenience passengers travelling without cash since “I don’t think that there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound.”

Ryanair has already invited passengers’ resentment by charging £2.50 for a cup of coffee on board.  

A week ago, Ryanair had announced that it would shut all check-in desks at airports and, instead, have passengers check in online. 

Airline-passenger groups have reacted with “incredulity” to the idea of charging passengers one pound every time the toilet is used, the website mirror.co.uk  reported. 

However, a section of the British media quoted Stephen McNamara, a spokesman of Ryanair, as trying to reassure passengers that the airline had no immediate plans to introduce the pay toilet. 

In a statement, McNamara sought to explain thus: “Michael, who is reputed as a cost-cutter, makes a lot of this stuff up as he goes along, and while this has been discussed internally, there are no immediate plans to introduce it.”   

Ryanair’s plan was described as “a step too far” by James Fremantle, of the Air Transport Users Council, the website independent.co.uk reported.  

According to Fremantle, disabled passengers in particular could be adversely affected and everyone would suffer on longer flights, which can last up to four hours. “Asking people who may not have the right cash to cross their legs for that amount of time is a bit much,” independent.co.uk quoted James Fremantle as remarking. 

The website also quoted Rochelle Turner, head of research at Which? Holiday, as reacting to Ryanair’s move thus: “It seems Ryanair is prepared to plumb any depth to make a fast buck and, once again, is putting profit before the comfort of its customers.” Charging people to go to the toilet, he added, might result in fewer people buying overpriced drinks on board, and “that would serve Ryanair right.”