A model who was trying to board a Ryanair plane claims she was told to wear a dirty mask after the airline objected to the one she'd brought with her.
Bluebell Wooi was wearing a floral patterned reusable mask made by a fashion designer friend as she attempted to board a flight from Italy back to the UK.
However, as she was about to board she was told to take it off and put on a disposable one on instead.
Because she had a reusable one, she didn't actually have another one to hand, so was forced to ask the other passengers if they had a spare.
The only one she could lay her hands on was one that was covered in dirt and had already been worn by another passenger, thus defying the object of wearing it in the first place.
Once she took her issue to the Ryanair staff, she claims she was told she'd have to put up with the filthy mask if she still wanted to board the aeroplane.
To further rub salt into the wound, she says some of the crew were also wearing reusable fabric masks.
Bluebell, from North London, said: "It was dirty and I really didn't want to [wear the used mask].
"I showed it to the Ryanair staff and was told I must wear that mask over my own.
"I just think it's completely bonkers. It doesn't make any sense to wear a mask used by a stranger over my own reusable one."
"And to make things even more bonkers, all the cabin crew on board the flight were wearing reusable masks themselves, so I don't know what it was all about.
"No one else seemed to be told to put on another mask as far as I could see other than the man in front of me.
"I don't know if there was some kind of memo I missed about wearing a disposable mask over a reusable one, but if there was one, I didn't receive it."
The Camden-based model was travelling back from Italy with her 72-year-old grandmother following a holiday in Calabria.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "In line with the requirements set out in the Italian Decree, DCPM N.15, 7 Aug, the use of surgical face masks is mandatory on all flights to, from and within Italy.
"Customers are informed of this requirement by email and SMS ahead of their journey, as failure to comply can result in passengers being denied boarding."
Featured Image Credit: Triangle NewsTopics: UK News, Coronavirus, travel, Weird, Italy