A mother-of-three avoided a £59 Ryanair baggage fee by abandoning her suitcase and boarding a flight with her belongings stuffed into a blue bin bag. Natalie Sadler, 43, was flying from Palma de Mallorca to Leeds Bradford on May 20 when a staff member told her her suitcase was too large for the baggage sizer.
Ms Sadler had purchased priority boarding and was entitled to a small personal bag and a 10kg bag. She admitted her suitcase was a 'thumbnail' too big. The staff member allegedly demanded €70 (£59) or she would not be allowed to board. Ms Sadler said she refused because the staff member was 'rude'.
She then went to a nearby bar, obtained a bin bag, and transferred all her belongings from the suitcase into the bag. She left the suitcase behind and boarded the plane, placing the bin bag in the overhead locker. Other passengers applauded her actions.
'I flung it over my shoulder like Santa and I just went, 'there you go, you can keep that',' she said. 'When I got on everyone was clapping, it was hilarious.' Ms Sadler noted she had flown with the same suitcase a week earlier without issue. The suitcase, a gift from her parents, cost £45 new.
Ryanair stated the worker was from a third party and reiterated its bag policy: 'If the bag fits in our bag sizer, it gets on free of charge. If the bag doesn't fit, it will get charged for.' The airline added that passengers simply need to comply with the agreed bag dimensions at booking.
