Swissport workers at UK airports were paid per confiscated easyJet bag under a leaked bonus scheme
Airport staff across the UK are being offered cash rewards for every oversized easyJet cabin bag they confiscate at the boarding gate, a leaked email has revealed, triggering outrage among travellers and fuelling calls for a crackdown on hand luggage charges.
The controversial scheme, dubbed the “easyJet gate bag revenue incentive”, pays Swissport employees £1.20 per bag flagged at the gate—£1 after tax—according to internal communications obtained by the Jersey Evening Post. The scheme operates at seven airports, including Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle, and Jersey.
The incentive, according to the email, was designed to “reward agents doing the right thing” by enforcing easyJet’s strict cabin baggage policy. It reassured staff that internal tracking used to monitor performance would not be used “negatively” but to identify agents who may need “support and training.”
Swissport workers earn around £12 an hour, but the extra bonus per bag has sparked concerns about aggressive enforcement tactics. A former Swissport passenger service manager, speaking anonymously to The Sunday Times, described the role as confrontational and risky.
“Confronting people with excess baggage is like taking on fare dodgers,” the ex-staffer said. “You risk abuse or worse – imagine stopping a group of lads on a stag weekend and telling them I’m going to have to charge you more than you paid for your tickets.”
EasyJet allows passengers to carry one small bag that fits beneath the seat for free. A second, larger bag for overhead storage incurs a fee starting from £5.99. However, passengers caught at the gate with oversized bags face a hefty £48 fee to check the bag into the hold.
Another ground handling company, DHL Supply Chain, is also reportedly paying staff at Gatwick, Manchester, and Bristol “a nominal amount” to identify non-compliant easyJet baggage, according to The Sunday Times.
The leaked Swissport email, dated November 2023, confirmed that the incentive scheme remains active, with bonuses paid directly to staff.
In a statement, Swissport defended the practice, saying: “We serve our airline customers and apply their policies under terms and conditions for managing their operation. We’re highly professional and our focus is on delivering safe and efficient operations, which we do day in and day out for 4m flights per year.”
EasyJet distanced itself from the scheme, claiming it had no oversight over how its contracted ground handlers compensate staff. A spokesperson said: “EasyJet is focused on ensuring our ground handling partners apply our policies correctly and consistently in fairness to all our customers.
Embed from Getty Images“Our bag policies and options are well understood and we remind customers of this when booking, before they travel and on their boarding pass, which means a very small proportion of customers who don’t comply will be charged at the airport.”
Ryanair confirmed that it does not offer similar incentives to Swissport staff at its gates, although it declined to comment on whether other operators might be incentivised.
The revelation is likely to infuriate passengers already frustrated by what many view as punitive and inconsistent baggage rules. The timing is especially contentious, as the European Parliament’s transport committee recently voted to grant passengers the right to carry an extra 7kg cabin bag at no additional cost.
If approved by a majority of EU member states, the legislation would apply to all intra-EU flights and journeys to and from the bloc—putting further pressure on low-cost carriers to rethink their profit-driven luggage policies.
Until then, British travellers face the prospect of staff scanning the boarding queue with a financial incentive to pull bags—and charge steeply for them.
