A passenger has revealed how she successfully challenged EasyJet and secured a refund after being hit with an unfair fine for her hand luggage, in a case that highlights a wider issue with airport baggage checks.
Holidaymaker 'forced to pay to travel home'
Louise Machin, 59, from Crystal Palace, south London, was charged €58 (£51) by ground staff at Chania Airport in Crete who insisted her cabin bag was too large. The freelance film and TV sales director described feeling "dismayed and confused" by the penalty, as she had meticulously checked her suitcase's dimensions before travelling.
Ms Machin had flown out from London Gatwick five days earlier without issue and had even used EasyJet's own digital sizing tool to confirm her bag complied. "I felt like I was going mad because I knew my bag was the right size," she said. "It was a threatening environment... I was forced to make the payment so that I could travel home."
Proof from manufacturer leads to refund
Upon her return to the UK in April, Ms Machin contacted the manufacturer of her Cabin Max bag. The company confirmed in writing that her luggage met EasyJet's cabin baggage specifications. Armed with this evidence, she approached the budget airline, which subsequently agreed to refund the fine.
Her experience is not isolated. Consumer champion Which? says it has received multiple reports of passengers being wrongly penalised, often due to issues with the official baggage sizers used at airports. One common problem is sizers where the metal sides are set too far in, rejecting bags that are technically within limits.
Consumer group warns of wider sizer problems
Which? warns that travellers on various low-cost airlines are being caught out. Sometimes, a bag that has flown on numerous previous journeys is suddenly deemed oversized. In other instances, a handle or strap protruding by mere millimetres can trigger a charge.
The group advises any passenger confident their bag is compliant to appeal the charge. This comes amid reports that some airlines, including Ryanair, offer staff bonuses for catching oversized bags, potentially increasing the risk of over-zealous enforcement.
In a statement, EasyJet said: "EasyJet’s bag sizers are standardised across all airports to meet our cabin bag dimensions and we do not see a wider issue with sizer damage... We will always review any feedback from our customers on a case by case basis." The airline refunded Ms Machin despite stating that subsequent checks found no fault with the sizers at Chania Airport.
