IT may have been a tongue-in-cheek comment by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary to charge passengers £1 to use the toilets but it sparked outrage among passengers last year.

And now, never shy of controversy, the low-cost airline is mooting the possibility of a “fat tax” for overweight passengers, charging a fee for every kilogram or extra waist inch above the prescribed limits. The plan emerged after an online poll of Ryanair passengers found that one in three, around 30,000 people, favoured charging excess weight fees for very large passengers who invade the space of those sitting next to them.

But yesterday astonished passengers at Bournemouth Airport questioned how the proposed tax would be implemented, branding the scheme “ridiculous” and “humiliating”.

Passenger Fergus Gray, 31, said: “This is ridiculous.

“It’s such a discriminatory Ryanair gimmick.

“It’s another example of our big brother society and a way to make more money out of people.”

Jackie Owen, who had just arrived from Dublin on holiday, added: “This is really not politically correct.

“It would be so embarrassing to be measured in public and how would it be governed anyway? I can’t see a way for them to do it without people getting upset.”

Annette Grace, 29, said: “It’s so humiliating.

“Some people have hormone or other health problems so can’t help it if they’re obese.

“I can see both sides but my immediate reaction is horror.”

Matt Gray said: “Yes, I agree it’s annoying if you’re next to somebody obese.

“Airlines should make seats bigger – passengers just don’t get enough space as it is.

“It’s not the passengers’ fault, it’s the airlines.”

If implemented, the “fat tax” could apply to every kg over 130kg/20 stone for men and 100kg/15 stone for women or every waist inch over 45 for men and 40 for women.

Ryanair spokesperson Stephen McNamara defended the charges and said that they might act as an incentive for those really large passengers to lose a little weight and feel lighter and healthier.