Dublin based budget airline Ryanair has announced that it is considering charging its customers to use the lavatory onboard its aircraft. The proposed fee is likely to be either one pound or one euro. The coins would be needed to operate the toilet door release mechanism which Boeing is apparently already developing.

Ryanair say that by installing coin operated toilets on its aircraft it will encourage people to use facilities available at airports before boarding. The new charges would apply to all Ryanair flights lasting less than an hour.

The toilet charges are part of what Ryanair calls its Cost Saving Proposal. The airline is also considering removing two out of three of the toilets it already has on its aircraft so it can fit in a few more seats. Ryanair claims that by doing so it would be able to charge customers around 5 per cent less for their tickets.

If the airline does decide to go ahead with the proposal, it is unlikely that customers will see a change for at least a year. The idea of charging passengers who need to use the toilet is not a new one. In 2009, Michael O’Leary, the airline’s chief executive, said that he was considering the idea.

A recent online survey showed that the idea of having to pay to use a toilet on an airplane was not a particularly popular one. The survey suggested that around three-quarters of those polled would choose to fly with an airline which did not implement the additional charge.