easyJet charges couple £100 for bags 'not fitting' after they flew with same luggage days earlier

Cliona McCarney and her partner were charged nearly £100 to fly with their small backpacks after easyJet staff at Belfast International Airport said they couldn't 'push' the luggage into the sizer

Cliona McCarney felt the sting of additional charges after easyJet imposed a £48 fee for each of her small backpacks at Belfast International Airport. The Belfast-born customer and her partner were left out of pocket by nearly £100, which she attributed to what she branded as 'appalling' customer service.

When trying to board for their flight to London, Cliona recounted that they were challenged by staff over their inability to make their luggage 'drop in [to the sizer]' without assistance.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), she expressed her frustration: "Charged £48 to fly with this backpack by easyJet, despite flying with it on same airline on Thursday."

She continued, criticising the airline's policy strictly enforcing how customers should fit their bags into the sizer: "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."

READ MORE: EasyJet passenger slams 'appalling' £3,900 'all inclusive fun' holiday to Spain

Further detailing the dispute, Cliona added that while the bags fit within the size limits, the issue was with a seemingly new 'drop and go' policy, which was not clearly communicated on the airline's website, reports the Daily Star.

Cliona shared her ordeal, saying: "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', she and her partner managed to enjoy their time in London, embarking on a walking tour before attending a boxing match at Wembley on Saturday evening (September 21). However, she expressed her frustration, 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 responded to Cliona's post, describing her experience as 'horrendous'. He said: "That's horrendous. Have witnessed that happening before and never understood why,".

Others chimed in with similar experiences. One man shared: "I'd the same issue flying with them from one airport, but different from the other."

Cliona responded by saying: "My partner flew Belfast to London last week with easyJet using the same bag and had absolutely no issue."

The airline's website does not explicitly state that bags should not be forced into the sizers, it simply states '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.'

An easyJet spokesperson responded: "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."

Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.