easyJet traveller charged £48 over backpack size dispute, sparking outrage

A woman alleges that she and her partner were charged £48 each to fly with their small backpacks after easyJet stated they couldn't 'push' the luggage into the bag sizer at the airport.

Cliona McCarney and her partner eventually paid up at Belfast International Airport, making their journey to London nearly £100 lighter due to what the Belfast native described as 'appalling' customer service from the airline.

Cliona claimed that easyJet staff in the boarding area singled out her and her partner because their baggage didn't 'drop in [to the sizer]' by 'magic', reports the Daily Star.

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She took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted: "Charged £48 to fly with this backpack by easyJet, despite flying with it on same airline on Thursday."

"Apparently you can't push your bag to get it in bag sizer, it has to drop in by magic. Appalling customer service from two very rude and aggressive staff at Belfast Airport."

Cliona added: "They both easily fit in with room but apparently you have to "drop and go" and not allowed to touch your bag to place it in. Absolute nonsense."

She said: "The bag definitely fit the measurements and within the sizer, the issue as I see it is the 'drop and go' policy which seems to be new and I also don't see it anywhere on easyJet's website."

Following the 'travel drama,' the woman and her partner made the most of their time in London, embarking on a walking tour, and later that evening (September 21), they took in some boxing at Wembley.

She lamented the incident's impact, stating: "Really took the shine off our day and cost us £98! That could be a huge chunk of someone's budget for their trip. Outrageous."

BBC weather presenter Barra Best sympathised with Cliona's ordeal, commenting on her post and describing her experience as 'horrendous'.

"That's horrendous. Have witnessed that happening before and never understood why," he remarked.

Many voiced their own similar experiences with the airline. One individual recounted: "I'd the same issue flying with them from one airport, but different from the other."

In response to these shared tales, Cliona added: "My partner flew Belfast to London last week with easyJet using the same bag and had absolutely no issue."

easyJet's official site does not specify any warnings against pushing or shoving bags into the sizers, it simply reads: 'your cabin bag allowance is one small cabin bag (max. 45 x 36 x 20 cm), which needs to kept under the seat in front of you.'

A representative for easyJet released the following statement in regard to the incident: "Our ground crew must ensure that customers' cabin bags are within the maximum dimensions to safely and securely fit where they need to be stowed in the cabin and so customers will sometimes be asked to check this using our baggage size gauges in the airport.

"We clearly inform customers of maximum cabin bag dimensions when booking, via email before they travel and it is also clearly displayed on boarding passes."