Ryanair passenger collapses in tears, begs staff after being denied boarding over luggage

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

A viral video shows a Ryanair passenger sobbing on her knees and pleading with the airline staff after she was not allowed to board the flight because her luggage was too big. The clip, which gained attention online, shows the passenger trying to fit her bag into a holdall at the Sofia Airport in Bulgaria. As other passengers watched from behind a glass door, the woman fell to her knees and wept as she continued pleading. (Facebook/Nikolay Stefanov)
But when it became clear that the bag won't fit, she was told to pay extra but she refused and insisted that she could make it fit. She then tried to force the luggage to fit it by slamming and eventually it worked.
However, the staff who watched this go down were not willing to let her board the plane. That is when the passenger had a full meltdown and began pleading with the border police to allow her on the flight.
As other passengers watched from behind a glass door, the woman fell to her knees and wept as she continued pleading. She began banging on the door and continued to plead loudly.
'She was pleading with us not to leave, but we were threatened that the entire flight would be cancelled if we didn't get on the bus, so passengers became frightened and left,' Nikolay Stefanov, the witness who recorded the incident, said.
He claimed that the woman's actions left fellow passengers in shock, and they could not believe how the staff showed her no compassion.
Goldair Handling Bulgaria stated that their staff acted 'professionally and without any physical contact' with a passenger seen in a shocking viral video.
The incident comes after Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary recently confirmed that agents who charge for oversized bags earn a $1.75 bonus per bag. Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, O'Leary defended the policy, calling excess baggage a 'scourge' and saying the airline may raise the commission. With flights mostly full, only half of Ryanair passengers are allowed two bags; the rest must stick to one due to space constraints, he explained.