If you’re heading away with the family over the remainder of the summer holidays, then you’ll probably do whatever it takes to avoid unnecessary stress.

When it comes to booking flights, accommodation and a car while abroad, many people look to third parties to help with the grunt work. While many families won’t mind the extra costs involved with third party planning, Ryanair has since advised that parents will get cheaper flights if they do the booking themselves. The Irish budget airline has claimed that some online travel agents are “misleading customers” with lower fares before heaping on hidden costs. Speaking about the issues, Ryanair’s Dara Brady said: “OTAs continue to mislead passengers to believe that they are getting the cheapest price available by falsely advertising lower fares than the airline themselves. “However, these ‘discounted fares’ are often nothing but clickbait to lure customers in before hitting them with hidden markups of up to 200% in some cases.” With this huge potential markup, Ryanair is advising that travellers could save a lot of money by booking flights directly with their airline of choice. Ensuring that no family is left in a bind should they ever need to change a flight for any reason, the airline emphasised the importance of the Ryanair Verified Seal as a mark of authenticity. A spokesperson said there have been issued in the past with third parties booking flights for families, and using the wrong details for the booking - causing problems at the airport and in the case of a free flight change. It said: “Ryanair has long campaigned to protect customers from the malpractices of OTAs, including the introduction of a customer verification process, which enables passengers who have booked via OTAs to identify themselves to Ryanair in order to comply with flight safety and security protocols, and also to allow them to confirm their contact details. “However, the best way for customers to protect themselves from OTAs is to only book where they see the Ryanair Verified Seal.” So remember, look for the verified seal, and make sure to book the flights yourself.

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