A man was arrested at Punta Gorda Airport after refusing to pay Allegiant Air’s $5 boarding pass printing fee. What makes this so absurd is not the fee itself; it’s the man’s overblown response, which included threatening staff and police officers. His behavior left little choice but to take him into custody.
Allegiant Passenger Arrested After Refusing To Pay $5 Boarding Pass Printing Fee
The incident took place at Allegiant’s counter in Punta Gorda, Florida (PGD) on August 3, 2025. Allegiant charges $5 to print a boarding pass at the airport, a fee clearly disclosed on its website. The man objected, arguing he had not been charged last year and demanding that the agent admit he was being denied boarding because he wouldn’t pay.
- He refused to follow instructions and accused the agent of lying about company policy.
- When police arrived, he insulted the officer, grew belligerent, and threatened to sue.
- He threw $5 in cash at the agent, but Allegiant does not accept cash at check-in counters, only debit or credit cards.
- After being warned he could be trespassed, he escalated further, leading to his arrest.
It’s all so comical and all recorded on police body cam:
My Take
This is not a case of an airline scamming a customer or slipping in a hidden fee. Allegiant’s $5 boarding pass printing fee is well-documented and I’m sorry…it’s not unreasonable in 2025 to expect folks to download the mobile app or print out their boarding pass at home. While all this bickering over a $5 fee may feel silly, it is part of the ultra-low-cost model and has been for years. The passenger was wrong to expect an exception (even if one was indeed granted last year), wrong to throw cash at an agent who could not accept it, and completely out of line to threaten the police officer.
It’s very simple: if you cannot handle the rules of an ultra-low-cost carrier, don’t fly one. This man had no basis for complaint and made his own situation infinitely worse by escalating. Getting arrested over $5 is ridiculous, but the blame here lies squarely on him.
As One Mile At A Time rightly noted, this guy would have been a risk once he got on the flight as well.
“Imagine if a flight attendant told him he needed to put on his seatbelt or store his carry-on bag. I’m sure they’d also get a ‘you don’t know what you’re talking about’ response, and he’d accuse them of lying and would threaten to sue them.”
I concur…he was not fit to fly.
CONCLUSION
Allegiant’s fees are not always popular, but they are transparent. This was not a case of consumer abuse, it was a case of a passenger behaving badly and refusing to follow simple instructions. Threatening police over $5 is a fast track to handcuffs. The lesson? Pick your battles wisely…this was not the hill to die on.
2 things. For $5 bucks I would have just paid the damn thing. I can’t think of anytime I’ve traveled lately where it wasn’t urgent I get to where I need to go that I would just not pay a $5 fee and miss the flight. And yes, he did only have cash which is really weird these days & which they wouldn’t accept.I guess in that situation just download the freakin app. He had a cell phone with him. If I really had to get where I was going, I would even try to find someone to pay with their card and I’d give them the cash. Embarrassing, but better than missing the flight. I’m a pretty stubborn guy like him, I admit…but geez. All that trouble just for a $5 fee? What was he thinking?
Second thing is, I NEVER fly those budget airlines. The way they nickle and dime you is just plain ridiculous. A “printing fee”. Really? Just pathetic that airlines charge for that. He should’ve found some way to pay it and then just never fly with them again.
He was stupid enough to fly Allegiant so he didn’t have to be stupid twice. Now, who flies an airline that charges you to print a boarding pass? Or better, who still prints a boarding pass? A few years ago I had to fly Southwest and had all boarding passes for my family of 4 on my phone. As we get to the gate to board the unfriendly agent said each passenger had to have their own boarding pass in hand. Well, my kids didn’t have a phone at that time and I told him. He made us leave the line and go to see an agent to have our boarding passes printed otherwise we couldn’t board. We were the last to board and had to seat all separate. No need to say that was the last time I ever flew Southwest.
As a matter of interest, has anyone ever taken a denied boarding claim to court or independent arbitrator (for eg CEDR in the UK) when they have been unable to print out a boarding pass themselves OR use a smart-phone? I wonder if someone was unable to use a smart-phone or a computer, there might be a discrimination claim? Equally, one might argue that if you needed to buy a computer, printer or smart-phone to complete the contractual terms, that was an unfair burden / term.
I don’t think there’s much in the way of protection for discrimination against The Poors.
This is exactly why ULCC model stopped working in the US. Karens show up demanding full service despite the dirt-cheap tickets that they paid for… On the other hand, unless you are savvy enough to know what’s ULCC or LCC, I also don’t think the carriers acknowledge enough that they are LCC or ULCC and what that would imply
It stopped working because the cost of living went up and the poors gave up flying.
Boomers gonna Boom.
Obviously dude is in the wrong here. Gotta read the fine print when flying a ULCC, and if $5 is the worst surprise fee you get hit with, that’s gotta generally be considered a win.
That said, Allegiant’s cashless stance is a tough one for an airline specializing in flying boomers between FL and middle America.
Funny enough, Allegiant used to charge a $15 or so “convenience fee” for the privilege of being able to use a CC to buy a ticket via their website. It used to actually be substantially cheaper to buy Allegiant tickets at the airport ticket counter. I want to say they took cash back then too. Always fun to watch how the ULCC games evolve.
I print out a BP every time I fly. Why? This alleviates any potential issues with scanners being down or my phone possibly freezing thus holding up boarding. Had both issues in the past so it’s just an insurance policy. Call me boomer, idc, but I’ll never be the person fumbling with my phone and slowing down the boarding process.
That said, the person in this situation is a moron…
The Allegiant resort packages for the Sun Seeker hotel in Punta Gorda ( owned by Allegiant ) does not include the boarding pass. They sell an ” all inclusive” air/ food / hotel and a 5 buck boarding pass is extra. ULCC all the way!
That guy looked a little “off’ like about to go full on rage. His body was trembling. Personally I would not want to fly with him, So instead of a $5 now he will have a criminal record, thousands in legal costs…idiot!
Florida Man has to be Florida Man. Of course your picture of the guy makes him look like a blind man with Downs Syndrome. Impressive job!
Why is it these idiots think they can win an argument with a police officer? Just be polite, comply with their directives and move on. All he had to do was download one app, but instead he ended up handcuffed and on the was to jail.
This behavior is how the police know early on in this interaction that he’s very likely going to end up being arrested. Any reasonable person would behave very differently in their interactions with police. That guy wasn’t a reasonable person, and it was destined to end poorly.
Happy Monday, Matt!
Two thoughts: 1) I read about some of these stories and think to myself why someone doesn’t intervene. If I was there, seeing the confused boomer, I’d have offered to pay the $5 fee for him so he can get on with his life. I read about someone freaking out over a snack box and the flight getting diverted. Again, I’d have paid the $5 and fixed it. Not that I’d do that all the time or make a habit of it, but sometimes a little kindness can make a huge difference in people’s lives but in our society, we simply don’t think that way.
Secondly: If able I print the boarding pass. It’s super convenient to have it handy to show TSA and the boarding agent but I “get” that they cost money to print. $5 is not as excessive as I think Spirit charged at some point. A LOT of seniors don’t know how to use smartphones.
Third (er), Karen gets a bad rap but we have (or had) high standards because of someone speaking up. I feel for the guy. At one time getting a boarding pass was easy AND a human agent actually did all the work for you instead of these “newfangled” kiosks. We should speak up and complain about dirty cabins and so on but there’s a proper, and mannered way to do it. I write up a customer complaint but I also send in compliments.
I can understand why the guy got upset. Five bucks for printing a boarding pass is pure corporate greed.
I was going to suggest Ryanair had a far steeper fee, but found “€/£20 before 3 Nov 2025 €/£0 from 3 Nov 2025” at their website. But it’s 55 to checkin at most airports (I presume checking in on the app/website avoids that fee).
I understand the frustration of snapping a bit over the nickle and timing. But, draw a line, sir, it shouldn’t be $5 and never escalate to arrest or even having the police called.
He has a “palsy” of sorts and is showing signs of dementia. Going through this now with a person that presents their dimentia as “angry.”
I looked a the video after your post. Not at all within my area of experience/expertise, but he certainly seems to be, let’s just say, losing his edge.
Definitely not fit to fly or be a meaningful member of society. He should just piss off and expire.
Cashless society BS– if you don’t accept US CURRENCY then you should not be allowed to transact business.
The man who ended up being arrested did tender 5$ cash but it was refused since Allegiant is cashless. I understand that all or nearly all other airlines are likewise cashless.
I believe it ought to be illegal for businesses to be totally cashless. In addition I believe that the ability to live and function in an analogue way totally apart from the digital world ought to be a basic universal human right.
I hope Allegiant’s computers totally melt down.