Mother-of-three reveals hilarious way she dodged Ryanair's 'ridiculous' luggage charge
A woman came up with an unorthodox solution when she was penalised for the size of her luggage at the airport.
We all know how troublesome it can be with the exact dimensions of your bag when flying.
Just one inch over, and you'll be forced to fork out an amount that can dwarf the price you paid for the plane ticket itself.
Bags in the exact sizes required for a lot of these budget airlines then, are a must-have, with numerous passengers being caught out on their travels.
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Natalie Sadler, a mother-of-three, was one of these unlucky flyers, but still found a unique way to make it onboard the plane with all of her belongings after being threatened with the infamous baggage charge.
While boarding her Ryanair flight from Palma de Mallorca to Leeds Bradford on 20 May, she recalled that she was asked to put her suitcase in the baggage sizer.
Having gone the extra mile and paid for priority boarding for the family trip to Magaluf, meaning that she could carry both a personal bag (40x20x25cm) and a 10kg bag (55x40x20cm) on board, she was shocked when told her 10kg bag was too big.
Claiming that it was a 'thumbnail' over the limit and that one of the wheels was sticking out, Natalie faced a fine of €70 (£59) to bring the bag with her, as a staff member allegedly told her she had to pay or face the prospect of being left behind.
The Brit claimed that the member was 'rude', and that she didn't want to pay the fee because of that.
Thinking quickly, the mum went to a bar in the terminal and asked for a bin bag, into which she emptied her belongings.
Natalie left the bag behind, boarding the plane with her personal bag and a large plastic bag full of clothes, in a sight you don't see every day.
The mum claimed that onlookers applauded the hilarious move.
While she admitted that she wasn't 'going to dispute' that the bag was a tad too big for the baggage sizer, Natalie added: "She [a Ryanair staff member] was like, 'If you don't pay €70 you'll get a new flight home. I'll send the flight without you'.
"It wasn't the money, it was the principle at this point because she was so rude."
But after filling the bin bag up, she swung the bag over her shoulder 'like Santa' and got on her flight.
"When I got on everyone was clapping, it was hilarious, it was so funny," Natalie recalled.
"Everyone was just laughing. They were clapping as I walked on with this bag."
Ironically, the bag was so big that it meant she struggled to get down the aisle, as Natalie was determined not to give the staff member a penny 'after the way she spoke' to her.
The mum claimed that she flew to Palma de Mallorca on Ryanair with the same bags a week before, with no issues.
Adding that she didn't mind leaving the suitcase behind, which was a present from her parents, she said: "I'll definitely buy another suitcase however I will double check the sizes.
"I don't want to go through this again. I don't want to be wasting all my nice luggage."
While the suitcase cost significantly less (£45) than the charge she was touted for, Natalie admitted: "I was fuming. I just had to laugh it off, as much as I was annoyed, it's a suitcase, no one died."
"They [Ryanair staff] just kept looking but said nothing despite the bag being bigger than the case at that point," she added. "It is absolutely ridiculous but I'm glad I stood my ground."
In response to the incident, Ryanair claimed the worker involved was from a third party assigned to deal with baggage.
A spokesperson for the airline said: "Ryanair's bag policy is simple; if the bag fits in our bag sizer, which is bigger than our agreed dimensions, it gets on free of charge. If the bag doesn't fit within our sizer, it will get charged for.
"This passenger's bag exceeded the permitted dimensions, and they chose to repack their items in an alternative bag that would fit the sizer instead.
"There is a very simple solution to this, which is that passengers simply comply with their agreement at the time of booking and travel with bags that fit or are smaller than our agreed bag dimensions."
Joshua Nair