Man Unable to Pay Airline Baggage Fee Arrested After Trying to Wear All His Clothes Onboard

The passenger is now threatening to sue the airline.

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Image via Getty/Steve Parsons/PA Images

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A typical flight home turned into an ordeal when Ryan Hawaii made a peculiar attempt to circumvent baggage costs. According to LADbible, after hanging out in Iceland for nine days, Hawaii went to the airport and realized his sister-in-law had purchased him a ticket without baggage. Instead of paying the £90 fee, he attempted to wear all of the clothes, including 10 jackets and eight pairs of pants, on the plane home to London. 

According to a series of tweets from Hawaii, he couldn’t afford the baggage fee because he was “broke from being homeless in Iceland.” After asking staff if he could wear his clothes instead, they allegedly said yes, but upon waiting to board the plane security was called. He told LADbible he was “manhandled” and arrested, claiming an officer “twisted his wrists and dug their knee into his back and head.” He was removed from the airport.

To everyone reporting on my airport experience in Iceland.

PLEASE STOP SAYING I was EVADING excess baggage fees....I couldn't AFFORD the fee (£90) as a result of being left homeless in Iceland for over a week.

Paints a VERY different picture.

Thankful that anyone cares tho.

— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 16, 2018

The next day he went back to the airport after selling some of the clothes to purchase a new plane ticket, but EasyJet refused to let him board after the previous incident. “‘You can't fly because you're disruptive, you're unreasonable and you're a threat to the passengers and staff onboard,’” Hawaii claims a staff member told him. His mother then sent him money to stay another night in Iceland and purchase a ticket on a Norwegian airline the next day.

EasyJet has refunded his ticket, and British Airways has opened an investigation on the incident. Hawaii is claiming that he suffered emotionally from the experience. "I've had a lot of anxiety since, kind of like PTSD." Ryan said. "I've been having nightmares and sleep paralysis—I've never had this type of stuff before. I just want to sue them to be honest."

"We explained our policy to our customer, and offered him an alternative flight to London,” a spokesperson for British Airways said. “We do not tolerate threatening or abusive behaviour from any customer, and will always take the appropriate action."

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