This follows its announcement in March to scrap airport check-in desks and move to 100 per cent web check-in - which means the fee is compulsory.

This £5 charge will be levied on all Ryanair bookings made from 20 May 2009.

If you want to travel with hold bags it now costs £10/€10 per bag/per each-way flight for one bag if booked in advance and £20/€20 per bag/per each-way flight if you pay at the airport or book via a call centre, and it costs £20/€20 per bag/per flight for a second bag and the same for third bag whether booked in advance or at the airport (the allowance is up to three bags per passenger weighing a total 15kg).

Passengers travelling with luggage will still be required to check in online and print a boarding card at home, and will need to deposit baggage at a drop desk at the airport.

You can check in online up to 15 days in advance, so if your return date is within that time, you can check in for your outbound and inbound flights at the same time.

If your return date is more than 15 days away, you will need to check in online at least 4 hours prior to departure.