A man who tried to avoid baggage fees by donning 10 layers of clothing was denied boarding and dragged out of Keflavik International Airport in Iceland.
Ryan Carney Williams, who prefers to be called Ryan Hawaii, thought he was clever. Or maybe he just wanted to make a point. But British Airways was not amused and a verbal exchange ensued at check-in. BA denied him boarding, on the grounds that he was rude, and asked him to leave the check-in desk.
Hawaii refused. Police were eventually called and used pepper spray to subdue him. After filing a report, he was released and returned to the airport the following day to fly EasyJet back to London. But word got around, because he was denied boarding for his poor behavior the day before (no word on whether he tried the layering stunt again). EasyJet admitted the captain ordered he not fly, but would not issue him a refund until he threatened a lawsuit. Eventually, British Airways issued a refund as well.
Finally, Hawaii was able to catch a Norwegian Air flight back to England, though not to his preferred airport. He claims luggage is still in London.
He blames “racial prejudice” for the incident, saying he was targeted for being having dreadlocks, “flashy” clothes, and nail polish.
Disappointing. pic.twitter.com/7f8UFi9jb4
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 10, 2018
CONCLUSION
He should have bought the “Extrago Sherpa Shirt” from JetBlue…
What an idiot.
“BA denied him boarding, on the grounds that he was rude.” I feel like most British people are rude, they must ban a lot of people for that reason.
Funny, most Brits would say that about Americans.
Crazy remark. I have never found the Brits to be rude. Quite the opposite. They have always been very helpful when I have been in their country.
He’d come wearing his 10 shirts and 6 pairs of pants… Then take them off once on board and fill up an overhead bin. Good on the agents for getting rid of him.
This reminds me of an article I read a few years ago about a guy who fainted when he put on too many clothes when he tried to avoid baggage fees on Ryanair or Easyjet (can’t remember which)…
I don’t like bag fees either, but really if you’re going to go to those lengths to avoid them then maybe you shouldn’t be flying in the first place.
What is the maximum number of layers of clothes that BA will allow you to fly in? It’s neat when you can change the rules on the spot!
What about the minimum number of layers? That sounds like a more interesting research project!
As someone who flies a lot I have heard of a number of incidences where someone tried this stunt, got overheated and required medical attention. It does not surprise me in the least that airlines are now looking at people trying this and thinking this is going to result in a medical emergency.
What I find horrible is when someone tries playing the race card. There are situations were people are getting singled out because of their race. It is an insult to people who are legitimately getting affected by racism when a jerk like this tries to claim three different airlines are being racist.
He is endangering himself and being disruptive to others (heaven forbid he actually stop and consider the other 100+ people on the flight). This is why the airlines are having issue with him. I am fairly certain that people with dreadlocks, flashy clothes and nail polish get on flights every day without incident.
Read the article carefully Camaro…….
“BA denied him boarding, on the grounds that he was rude, and asked him to leave the check-in desk. Hawaii refused. Police were eventually called and used pepper spray to subdue him.”
Been an air hostess I have seen and experienced many American rudeness and not showing much respect toward any crew members ground or air , just saying