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A female passenger broke down and dropped to her knees after being denied boarding her flight because of excess luggage. The incident is being investigated.
A Ryanair passenger was seen breaking down after she was not allowed to board her flight. (Photo: X)
A Ryanair passenger broke down and dropped to her knees after being denied boarding her flight because of her large luggage. A viral video showed the female passenger attempting to fit her luggage into a holdall in a Bulgarian airport on July 24.
The passenger was told by airport staff that she would have to pay for extra baggage after it was clear that her bag would not fit. However, the passenger refused, insisting that she could get it to fit, according to the New York Post.
After several attempts, the passenger barely managed to fit her bag, but the airport staff still refused to let her board the plane. After this, the passenger broke down in tears and pleaded with police to allow her on the flight, while dozens of passengers watched from behind a glass door.
The passenger started banging on then door and asking for help as more staff quickly surrounded her. The woman soon became exhausted and dropped to her knees.
Shoutout to the @Ryanair crew and border police at Sofia Airport for dealing with a extremely dangerous passenger fast and smooth. Big respect to the young lion from @Ryanairthis airline never disappoints. pic.twitter.com/HMS4d6nDv4– One Bulgarian (@transbulgaria) July 25, 2025
‘Outrageous’ Behaviour
Nikolay Stefanov, the witness who recorded the distressing ordeal, said the situation “escalated quickly.” She said the passenger was pleading with other flyers not to leave, but officials threatened that the entire flight would be cancelled if they did not board the bus, so they became frightened and left.
Stefanov said fellow passengers were shocked by the staff’s lack of compassion, as they refused to allow her to board the flight because of her oversized luggage.
Meanwhile, the viral video caught the attention of Bulgaria’s Parliament, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov ordered an inspection of the airport’s security cameras to probe the “outrageous” behaviour during the ordeal, according to local media reports.
Karadjov said the leading ground operator would be identified and receive the “highest fine” and a verbal warning following an investigation into the incident. However, the airport said its employees acted “professionally and without any physical contact with the passenger.”
“All rules regarding passengers’ baggage, its permissible size and the fees payable for baggage are determined solely, entirely and unilaterally by the airlines,” the handling company said.
The shocking viral video comes as Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary confirmed earlier this month that its agents who identify and charge for oversize bags receive a bonus of around 1.50 euros ($1.75) per bag, citing the company’s “aggressive” policy of eliminating passengers with excess baggage.
“We’re flying largely full flights, about half the passengers can bring two bags and the other half can only bring one — because that’s all that fits in the plane,” O’Leary said.
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
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