Baggage charge? Just wear everything!

BRITAIN TERROR PLOT BUDGET AIRLINES: BUDGET TRAVEL: Passenger planes of the budget airline easyjet at Belfast International Airport, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006. Europeans have become used to cheap flights over the past decade, sometimes paying no more than the price of a good meal for a ticket between London and Barcelona. But last week's terrorist alert has cast a shadow over the era of budget flying, with fears that no-frills airlines won't be able to avoid passing on the costs of ongoing tougher security measures to commuters. "The situation as it is at the moment is unsustainable," said David Bryon, the former managing director of low-cost airline bmibaby, on Monday, Aug. 14, 2006. Canceled and delayed flights since the revelation of a plot to attack a number of planes on the trans-Atlantic route have already cost all carriers millions of pounds (dollars; euros) per day and the budget airlines could be more susceptible to future costs. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Published Mar 31, 2016

London - A holidaymaker avoided paying £46 (about R1 000) for excess baggage on an easyJet flight by unpacking his case in a bar at Gatwick Airport and wearing a week’s worth of winter clothes.

Matt Botten, 32, spent about an hour putting on every item he had packed before checking in for a flight to Iceland after he was told his case was too large to carry as hand luggage.

EasyJet told the TV producer from Cardiff he would have to pay to check in the bag.

He decided instead to wear its contents – six layers on top, four below, three pairs of socks, and one pair of shoes on his feet, another in his pockets.

Although he was questioned for 30 minutes by airport security, he was allowed to fly.

Speaking after landing in Reykjavik, he said: “We got cheap flights but they tried stinging us for £46 a bag. When most stuff is from Primark and collectively worth half that, it seemed ludicrous.”

Daily Mail