Grandmother claims Ryanair charged her more than 'younger and hotter passengers' because of her age
PA
A grandmother has claimed that Ryanair charged her extra for an oversized suitcase, whilst “younger and hotter passengers” were allowed through free of charge.
Maxine Haughian, 63, was flying to Alicante, Spain from the UK with the budget airline when she was stopped in the queue at Leeds Bradford Airport to have her luggage measured.
She has claimed that her luggage fit inside the guidance rack but “stuck out very slightly” by 2cm on one side.
The mum-of-two, who was travelling with her husband Jim, was dismayed to hear that her case was “too big” and that she would need to pay £75 to place the luggage in the hold.
However, the 63-year-old, who paid £25 for priority boarding, was shocked to see that not all passengers were receiving the same treatment.
Haughian noticed that some passengers who had similar bags to hers were being allowed to board with no issue.
She spotted one woman in particular, who she described as “young and gorgeous”, even taking a snap of the beauty being let off.
Venting on Facebook about the ordeal, Haughian said: “I've just been held up for 20 minutes because they said my cabin bag was too big and I must pay an EXTRA £75 for it to go in hold.
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“It's funny how other bags that are exactly the same were allowed through without comment.
“It's a good job I took the photo of this (gorgeous) girl pushing her case into the box and being allowed through.
“I'm obviously not young or good-looking enough!”
She added that she had travelled with the exact same suitcase for a decade and had never had an issue.
Haughian took to Facebook to vent about the ordeal
PA“I've used it for nearly ten years... the measurements are on the site and it clearly states they've got to sit within the lines of the rack. It was sticking out very slightly. It seemed so unfair. The bag did fit in.
“I was pretty furious but then I became more annoyed when people started walking past and they selected certain people to put their bag in. People were walking past with bags that would clearly not fit in the guide rack and they weren't even being stopped.”
She slammed the budget airline for its “inconsistent rules” which made her feel “helpless”.
The grandmother was ultimately allowed to board the plane without paying the £75 excess fee after she showed staff the photo of the young girl’s suitcase being approved.
GB News has approached Ryanair for comment