London - Budget airline Ryanair is to increase its charges for check-in luggage by 50 per cent from October in a move designed to make passengers take carry-on-luggage only, the airline said Friday.

From October 1 the charge for bags carried in the hold of aircraft will rise from 20 to 30 pounds (32 to 49 dollars) for luggage checked in at the airport.

The hold baggage charge for online check-in will rise from 10 to 15 pounds.

At the same time, passengers will, for the first time, be allowed to travel with two checked-in bags, which have to be paid for separately. The total baggage allowance will be doubled to 30 kilograms.

Hand luggage will continue to be free of charge, the Irish carrier said.

"In order to persuade passengers to travel with carry-on bags only, and to defray the cost of some of these fare reductions, we are increasing baggage allowances and fees with effect from October 1," said the airline. (dpa)