Travel experts warn against social media 'pillowcase hack' after passenger banned from flight

We all love a travel hack, especially if it cuts the cost of your trip, but experts are advising against one sneaky tactic.

For a while now, influencers have been advising passengers to try a trick involving a pillowcase, in order to slash luggage charges.

Before you decide to copy their idea, it might be worth considering if it’s worth the risk, after one man found himself being banned from his flight for trying it out.

Instead of saving a few quid, it cost him a lot more in hassle of rearranging his travel plans.

The beloved airport pillowcase hack sees would-be money savers getting creative with their bedding.

Instead of storing their pillow in it, holidaymakers are stuffing their clothes into the pillowcase in order to try and get around paying for hold luggage.

Many airports see a pillow as a ‘comfort item’ that you wouldn’t have to pay for.

One travel expert, Amanda Parker from Netflights, has revealed why it’s not such a good idea.

She told The Mirror that some passengers try to avoid ‘paying up to £150 in extra fees by taking advantage of an empty pillowcase.’

"By stuffing a standard pillowcase with soft clothing items like T-shirts and jumpers, they’re essentially creating a travel ‘pillow’ that they hope to sneak through,” she added.

Unfortunately, says Parker, airlines have caught on to this trick and many people aren’t getting away with it.

"An overly stuffed pillowcase bursting with clothes can raise suspicion,” she warned.

She continued: "By risking the pillowcase hack, you could risk holding up the boarding process or being denied boarding entirely if you can’t pay the fee.”

“Some low-cost airlines state that any item used to carry belongings, even if disguised, must be treated as luggage," she stressed.

The sneaky tip backfired on one passenger previously, after a man was seen in a video posted to TikTok, arguing with airport security after his plan was busted.

"Stop letting social media give you tips and tricks because sometimes it's not gonna work," a woman said while filming the clip.

"This dude was trying to take in a pillowcase full of clothing and other items, which he is stating was simply just a pillowcase, and the dude was was like bro, everybody can see it's not a freaking pillow, like come on.”

She added: “They gave him the chance to pay for it, he went all the way up until they closed the doors to be like, okay, I'll pay for it now, and then he tried to like bogart his way into the freaking, into the plane."

According to the eye-witness, police were then called after the man with the pillowcase refused to cough up the cash.

Travel and packing expert Lydia Mansel, who founded Just Packed, also supports the hack. She said: "Packing clothes in a pillowcase can definitely be an effective way to keep your bag under the weight limit.

"No one wants to pay those extra fees, after all."

There is clearly a risk in doing the hack but it seems that a lot of that comes down to how authoritative staff are feeling on the day you travel.

It’s up to you if you heed the expert’s warning, but don’t be surprised if you end up with a hefty bill if you get caught out.