Customers flying with from Bristol to Dublin have slammed the airline's "lack of flexibility" after being told to pay hundreds in extra check-in fees.

Karen Pritchard had been hoping for a relaxing trip to with her husband and four of their friends before becoming wise to the hefty extra costs.

She booked the return trip via the in a bid to reduce "hassle" - but ended up having to shell out hundreds more than she expected and was unable to fully enjoy the city break.

"[The booking] cost £1,375, much more than it would have been had we booked directly," she told The Times, "but we'd had good experiences in the past with Opodo and wanted to save ourselves the hassle and worry of checking in online."

She was then told by Ryanair that bookings needed to be handled online - though doing so after buying tickets through Opodo proved to be "impossible".

A "lack of understanding" from the budget airline meant the group were charged £330 in check-in fees for flying out of Bristol and another £330 to return home, she claimed.

"Instead of enjoying Dublin with our friends, my husband and I spent several hours trying and failing to resolve the situation with both Opodo and Ryanair," Karen said.

"We're annoyed with Ryanair for its lack of flexibility and understanding and with Opodo, which offered no support at all."

Responding to the claims, Ryanair laid the blame onto Opodo, slamming the company as "pirates" for the fees it attaches to initial flight costs.

In a consequent back-and-forth dispute between the providers, Opodo then alleged that Ryanair was in fact responsible for the "abusive" check-in costs.

However, the Spanish-owned travel agency eventually backed down and admitted that Karen and her group hadn't recieved a satisfactory standard of support.

"As a gesture of goodwill and testament to Opodo's commitment to customer care, the team have offered to refund 50% of the booking: £687," it said.

It's not the first time Opodo has faced customer backlash, nor the first time Ryanair has criticised a travel agency for adding extra costs to its budget-friendly flight prices.

The agency was accused of using "obscure" wording to sign customers up for a £90 subscription that holidaygoers told The Telegraph didn't disclose the full costs earlier this month. Opodo has said membership details are "transparently presented at multiple stages" of the booking process.

Meanwhile, Ryanair won a case against the French arm of Lastminute.com in 2022, arguing that the company had breached its terms of use by flogging discount Ryanair flights without a commercial agreement in place.

Travellers are often caught in the crosshairs of such disputes between airlines and online travel agents, with neither side wanting to claim responsibility and costs racking up all the while.

If you've been charged extra on top of existing holiday travel costs and want to share your story, email eleanor.burleigh@reachplc.com