Low-cost air travel is neither cheap nor fun anymore

RYANAIR’S Michael O’Leary constantly rants on about how the Government’s new €10 airline travel tax is doing tremendous damage to Ireland’s tourism industry, citing its introduction for justifying route closures, reducing schedules and causing job losses.

But why does no one ever challenge Mr O’Leary over the ridiculous €5 per passenger per journey credit card fee his airline forces on passengers, or his airline’s intention later this year to reintroduce fees for online check-in?

The consumer, I’m afraid, is being left high and dry and one can only predict that all these charges are going to go up and up. Surely, if there is to be a credit card charge, then there should only be one per transaction, and not per individual passenger.