Ryanair passenger breaks down after being denied boarding over luggage size
The video shows the female traveller trying to squeeze her luggage into a holdall at the airport. Despite being informed by staff that she would need to pay an extra baggage fee as the bag did not meet size requirements, the woman refused and insisted she could make it fit, according to the New York Post.
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After multiple attempts, she eventually managed to force the bag into the holdall. However, airport staff still refused to let her board the flight. In tears, she pleaded with police officers while dozens of passengers watched from behind a glass door.
Witnesses said the woman began banging on the door and calling for help as more staff surrounded her. Exhausted, she eventually collapsed to her knees.
The footage was recorded by Nikolay Stefanov, who described the scene as escalating quickly. He said the woman had pleaded with other passengers not to leave without her, but airport officials reportedly threatened to cancel the flight if they didn't board the shuttle bus. Fearing further disruption, passengers complied and left.
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According to Stefanov, many were shocked by what they described as a lack of compassion from staff, who still refused the woman entry even after she managed to fit her bag.
The incident drew the attention of Bulgaria's Parliament. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov ordered an investigation, calling the staff's conduct 'outrageous'. He directed officials to review airport CCTV footage and said the main ground handling operator would face the 'highest fine' along with a verbal warning.
In response, the airport maintained that its staff had acted 'professionally and without any physical contact with the passenger.'
'All rules regarding passengers' baggage, its permissible size and the fees payable for baggage are determined solely, entirely and unilaterally by the airlines,' the ground handling company said.
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The incident comes amid growing criticism of Ryanair's baggage policies. Earlier this month, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary confirmed that the airline pays bonuses to agents who spot and charge passengers for oversized bags.
'We're flying largely full flights, about half the passengers can bring two bags and the other half can only bring one — because that's all that fits in the plane,' O'Leary said, adding that the company follows an 'aggressive' policy on excess luggage.
Agents reportedly receive a €1.50 (£1.28) bonus per oversized bag they flag.
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Hindustan Times
23 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
SC pulls up Delhi Police for failing to trace missing Russian woman
The Supreme Court on Friday blamed the Delhi Police of sheer negligence and adopting a casual approach in tracing the missing Russian woman accused of leaving the country with her minor son in defiance of court orders. The court noted that no FIR was lodged even when the case also involves removing the child from custody of court and forging the child's Indian passport. (ANI) The apex court pulled up the police for being equally guilty of neglecting its order of May 22 by which they were directed to keep a close watch on the woman while granting her shared custody of the child. However, she left the country on July 8. Even on being told by the child's father on July 7 that the woman was missing, the court noted a 'lack of sensitivity and responsibility' on part of the police to take immediate efforts to trace her. The bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said, 'The Delhi Police is equally a partner in violation of this court's child has been snatched from the custody of the Supreme Court of India. The police and ministry officials are taking it lightly, thinking that a child has been taken away by the mother in a matrimonial dispute.' The investigation report submitted by the police in court detailed how the woman, Viktoria Basu, travelled in a taxi from Delhi on July 7 and reached Bihar on July 8. The same day, she crossed over to Nepal, and remained there for four days till she boarded a flight to Sharjah on July 12 and onwards to Russia by an Air Arabia flight. The court noted that till date, no first information report (FIR) has been lodged even when the case also involves removing the child from custody of court and forging the child's Indian passport, when the original is lying deposited with the court. Indicating stern steps may follow on the next date, the bench said, 'Before we take any harsh action, the authorities are well advised to establish contact with the Indian Embassy in Russia and with Interpol and apprise this court of the process they intend to adopt for producing the child before this court.' The matter has been kept for further hearing after 10 days. The court said it had exercised its parens patriae (parent of the country) right, as nobody, neither the father nor mother of the child, was granted full custody by the May 22 order. It also questioned why police did not probe the forgery of the child's passport. Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, told the court that the police, and the ministries of external affairs and home affairs have established contact with authorities in Nepal, Sharjah and Russia through diplomatic channels to get details of the woman and the child. The court said 'this is hardly of any consequence now,' as authorities have confirmed information that she has travelled to Russia. Bhati said that there is no confirmation that she is still in Russia. The court enquired why the Indian Embassy in Russia has not been asked to verify this information using local contacts. 'Between July 7 (complaint of woman's disappearance) and July 14 (confirmation of her escape from India) what have you done? It is we who have been suggesting you to go through Nepal. What has the Delhi Police done except giving an impression they were hobnobbing. Is this not a case where the Delhi Police clearly failed in their duty?' the court asked Bhati. The ASG told the court that till July 18, even the police did not know the woman's whereabouts. The court responded: 'That is because you did not make any effort.' It also questioned why the CCTV footage outside her house from the day she was reported missing was not checked. 'There is a complete lack of sense of responsibility, sensitivity and sheer criminal negligence on part of the police,' the bench observed, adding, 'We are not going to spare the station house officer and the deputy commissioner of police (south district). They have not shown due care to implement our orders.' The incident even raised concerns over the plan of action available with the Centre on how to respond in such a situation, the court remarked. Besides the police, the MHA and MEA also submitted their reports to the court. ASG Bhati said that contact was established with the airline which Basu took from Sharjah to Russia. However, citing privacy issues, the airline authorities have not shared details. The court said it was willing to issue any orders to facilitate response from the airline. 'Even the UAE will cooperate in such matters. No airline can claim privacy in a matter where a crime has been committed,' the bench said. Basu in 2023 approached the court seeking custody of her son following a matrimonial dispute. But when several attempts of reconciliation failed, the court in May this year allowed shared custody of the minor son to the parents for three days in a week. Basu had come to India in 2019 and her visa was extended by the top court while passing the custody order.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Stranded medico's dad says his son subjected to conflict training
Chennai: Kishore Saravanan, the stranded medical student from Russia had sent a desperate audio message to his father in Cuddalore on Thursday saying he was about to be sent to the war front on Aug 2. His father Saravanan, who met the media here on Friday, said that his son was subjected to conflict training and was being forced to consume steroids to withstand the pain. "Crying for help, my son said no one can see him alive if he was taken to the warfront on Aug 2," said an emotionally charged Saravanan. "Kishore said he was tortured, forced to consume chemicals and steroids, and given military training. He begged us to save him," Saravanan said urging the govts to act fast to rescue his son before he was sent to the warfront. Kishore Saravanan, a third-year medical student in Russia, was booked in a drug peddling case and has been taken away by the police there. Kishore claimed he was framed in the case and that Russian authorities had forcibly enlisted him in the armed forces there. MDMK MP Durai Vaiko who was at the press meet said he has petitioned external affairs minister S Jaishankar seeking Kishore's immediate repatriation under the Indo-Russian prisoner transfer treaty. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Signs Of Heart Attack That Shouldn't Be Ignored (Take A Look) TheDaddest Undo "Twenty days ago, his parents received a confidential call from him, detailing how he was coerced to sign documents and taken from prison to a military camp near the Ukraine-Russia front," he said. Durai alleged that Russia, facing severe manpower shortages in its ongoing war, is forcibly enlisting prisoners from nations, including India. "Hundreds who went for education or work are being falsely implicated, jailed, then trained and sent to the frontline," he said. "This is something we've seen only in terrorist organisations, never before by a govt." Durai said he has gathered signatures from 68 Indian MPs across 15 parties supporting his demand for Prime Minister's urgent intervention. "The external affairs ministry has assured it has urged the Russian Ambassador to halt Kishore's transfer and is processing documents to bring him back," he said.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Russian woman leaves India with child: SC raps Delhi Police for ‘sheer negligence' in custody dispute case
Hearing a child custody dispute between a Russian woman and her Indian husband, the Supreme Court on Friday said that she has left the country with the minor child due to the 'sheer negligence' of the Delhi Police. It also urged the authorities to get in touch with the Indian Embassy in Moscow to bring the minor back. 'At the outset, we are constrained to observe that the incident of taking away the child by the petitioner has happened apparently due to sheer negligence and failure of the Delhi Police in performing its duties in terms of the direction contained in… our order dated May 22, 2025,' a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said. The bench said that on May 22, it had directed that a discreet but strict vigil be kept on the woman. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union government, had on the last date of hearing told the SC that the woman, after leaving her rented accommodation in Delhi, had travelled to Russia via Nepal and UAE with the child. '… that means for four days, she was in Nepal. Had the Delhi Police taken any course of action, we are quite sure that preventive measures could be taken to not allow her to board the flight,' the SC said on Friday. The bench added that 'forging/duplication of the passport of the child', which has been 'committed', was also 'apparently not considered by the Delhi Police'. The SC called this a 'flagrant violation of its orders'. Observing that it was not 'that simple' matrimonial dispute, the bench said, 'The Union of India also must keep in mind that the minor child has been taken from the custody of this court. It is not a case of a custodial dispute between the parents of the child, whose custody has not been handed over to either the father or the mother. It was in exercise of our duty as parens patriae that we were resolving the issue and the child was in the custody of the court.' Bhati said that while authorities are trying to get information from Nepal, the UAE, and Russia, foreign airlines, citing privacy, were reluctant to share travel data. But the SC said that no airline can claim privacy when a crime is committed. It maintained that the authorities should make an effort to bring the child back to the country by exploring diplomatic channels and talking to the Indian ambassador in Moscow. It gave 10 days to the Delhi Police to file a fresh status report depicting some tangible action to bring the child back. Referring to its May 22 order, the bench said that it had then asked the police to maintain discreet but effective vigil over residences of both parents and to depute women personnel who could enter the woman's residence in case of an emergency. However, this was not done even after the man complained; the court pointed out, adding that the CCTV camera footage showed the woman leaving the premises with the child through the back door. Justice Kant asked, 'What were the police doing?' He added that 'it is a clear case of criminal negligence' and that the court will not spare the police. Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More
