Mirko E. was due to travel from Palma to Milan-Malpensa on January 1 with his wife and teenage son. After waiting three hours for their delayed flight, the businessman walked to the gate before being asked to place his bags in the measuring devices
A Ryanair traveller was left fuming after being slapped with a £250 surcharge for his luggage, which was allegedly “one centimetre” too big.
Mirko E, who was set to jet off from Palma to Milan-Malpensa on January 1 alongside his wife and son, faced a hefty fee after a lengthy three-hour delay. As they approached the gate, the family was asked to test their bags in the sizing device.
Despite having travelled with Ryanair “many times before” using the same luggage, Mirko claimed that the airline staff halted them, pointing out that the front of each carry-on slightly exceeded the size limit. According to Diaria de Mallorca, the German businessman was shocked when a flight attendant demanded an extra £83 per bag.
When he requested to discuss the matter with a manager, he was met with a retort: “Don’t you think we are competent enough?”.
The situation escalated as fellow passengers chimed in, backing the trio, but even after reluctantly agreeing to pay the additional charges, Mirko was told by the stewardess that “you will not fly today”. Despite support from other travellers, the family was ultimately left stranded at the airport, reports the Express.
Reflecting on the incident, Mirko expressed his frustration: “We have flown with Ryanair many times with these bags and there has never been a problem.”
Mirko said: “I then asked the young lady if I could take a photo of her name tag, so she took if off and then put it back on. We still had to fly and booked another Lufthansa flight, via Munich, for a total of around €1,000.”
A Ryanair representative confirmed the details of the booking, stating that the passengers had opted for priority seating which allowed them additional luggage privileges. The spokesperson elaborated: “These passengers booked Priority Fare tickets for this flight from Palma de Mallorca to Milan Malpensa (01 Jan), which allowed each of them to carry a 10kg cabin bag and a small personal bag onboard.”
The spokesperson continued: “As these passengers’ cabin bags exceeded the permitted size, they were correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee however refused to do so and became aggressive towards gate staff.”
The culmination of events led to a decisive action by the airline, as the spokesperson added: “As a result of their aggressive behaviour, the gate agent denied these passengers boarding for this flight from Palma de Mallorca to Milan Malpensa.”