A man traveling from France back to Scotland figured out a way to avoid hefty baggage fees—by wearing 18 pounds (8 kilos) worth of clothes.
John Irvine, from Glasgow, Scotland, was returning to Edinburgh from Nice, France, when he was told his bag was too heavy and he would have to check it with easyJet.
Refusing to pay the extra fee, he put on 15 shirts and jumpers despite the temperature being 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 celsius), all of which his son, Josh Irvine, captured and shared in a humorous video on Twitter.
“Suitcase was over the weight limit in the airport so ma Da whipped oot aboot 15 shirts n wacked every one a them on to make the weight,” he wrote in the Twitter post.
Suitcase was over the weight limit in the airport so ma Da whipped oot aboot 15 shirts n wacked every one a them on to make the weight????????????????????cunt wis sweatin pic.twitter.com/7h7FBgrt03
— Josh Irvine (@joshirvine7) July 6, 2019
Josh told the Metro that the family was returning home from France when they were informed about the overweight baggage.
“The lassie at the counter asked us if we wanted to pay extra but my dad just looked up at her and said ‘Hen, watch this’ and zipped open the suitcase and quickly flung on about 15 jumpers to help cut down the weight,” Josh told the Metro. “My ribs were sore from laughing.”
“The staff were in stitches but trying to get through the security was a struggle because they thought he was trying to smuggle something under all his clothes,” he said, adding: “Thankfully, we got through eventually.”
Similar Cases
While the airport staff was amused this time, there are cases where they haven’t been.
Last year, an unruly man was arrested for wearing eight pairs of pants and ten shirts. Ryan Carney Williams, who goes by Ryan Hawaii, was visiting Iceland and was on his way back to England when he decided to wear all his clothes to avoid the baggage fees, according to Icelandic news site Mbl.
“hi being held at Iceland Keflavik airport because I had no baggage put all the clothes on and they still won’t let me on. Racial profiling? Or…..,” he wrote on Twitter, tagging the British Airways.
@British_Airways hi being held at Iceland Keflavik airport because I had no baggage put all the clothes on and they still won’t let me on. Racial profiling? Or….. pic.twitter.com/NKgpe1cPFP
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 10, 2018
According to media reports, Hawaii was refused boarding entry twice, once from British Airways and once with easyJet.
Additionally, because of his behavior, police were called to the scene. He eventually made it home with a third airline. However, his baggage was sent to a different airport in England, according to media reports.
And AGAIN! Refused from 2 flights in 2 days for no valid reason 🙂 @easyJet @British_Airways thanks guys wonderful service pic.twitter.com/Ivoc0WZvXl
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 11, 2018
While Hawaii didn’t end up in jail, another unruly passenger did.
Last year, a woman caused a scene in a Memphis, Tennessee airport when she learned about a $20 baggage fee.
Tamiko Werner became enraged when she learned about the baggage fee and started causing a scene—flipping furniture and even setting off a fire extinguisher, according to WREG.
In a video, Warner seemed unapologetic about the mess she was creating.
“I don’t care about going to jail. Whatever. This is worth it,” she said in the video.
The incident went on for about five minutes, in which time she caused around $2,500 in damage to the building, and with the addition of other damages—such as to electronic devices, phones, and carpeted areas—authorities said damages could be as high as $10,000, according to CrimeOnline.
Passengers who saw the incident unfold were astounded.
“That’s terrible,” Maria Rivera told WREG. “I think people need to check themselves before acting like this in public.”
Warner ended up behind bars with bond set at $5,000, according to several reports.
