Woman warns against using viral travel hack after passenger denied boarding

A passenger has issued a stark warning to fellow travellers this summer, after witnessing another flyer being denied boarding due to a popular packing trick.

In a video captured at Orlando International Airport, one traveller arrived for his flight with a pillowcase filled with belongings in hand. This is a twist on a well-known travel hack, where passengers stuff a pillow or neck pillow with a jumper or coat that won’t fit in their luggage, allowing them to bring it on board without paying for an extra bag or item.

The trick can let you squeeze an extra item or two on board when you’re already wearing as many clothes as possible and have no space left in your bags. However, he was stopped by airport security, leading to a dispute which resulted in the police being called and him being unable to board his flight, reports RSVP Live.

Read more: Ryanair ‘strictly enforces’ rule that could see your hand luggage rejected at the gate

Read more: Ryanair’s banned hand luggage items: What you can’t bring on your flight

“Stop letting social media give you tips and tricks because sometimes it’s not gonna work,” wrote TikTok user @natashaorganic, who recorded the incident.

“This dude was trying to take in a pillowcase full of clothing and other items which he is stating was simply just a pillowcase and the dude was was like bro, everybody can see it’s not a freaking pillow, like come on.”

The passenger was reportedly given the option to pay for his additional item, but declined until just moments before boarding ended.

“He waited all the way up until they closed the doors to be like, ‘Okay, I’ll pay for it now,'” Natasha explained. “And then he tried to like bogart his way into the freaking, I don’t know what that’s called, before you get into the plane.

“And they were like, ‘Bro, back away. We gave you your chance and you didn’t pay for it.’ And they ended up calling the cops on him. And he ended up getting escorted out.”

However, not everyone has always had luck with it. In a Reddit post about travel hacks where the pillow trick was discussed, one user said: “I don’t know. In SFO, the gate ladies told us we had to put our pillows in our bags.”

Another said: “I think budget airlines consider a pillow to be a personal item. I concur with wearing lots of clothes and shoving things into your jacket as the tried and true method.”

A third said: “I recently flew Southwest where bags fly free. Before boarding for the flight home they made an announcement that there was a strict limit of two carry on bags or items and that pillows counted as one of the items. I thought it was odd at the time but maybe airlines are picking up on this? “.

Others who have had success said: “I’ve tried it with Ryanair and Easyjet and got away with it all 13 times I tried it.”

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