Ryanair accused of age bias in carry-on luggage dispute
63-year-old Maxine Haughian expressed her outrage after the airline Ryanair demanded £75 for an oversized carry-on bag. She claims that other passengers with similar-sized suitcases were allowed through without charge. According to her, the decision was based on the appearance and age of the passengers.
Maxine, a retired prison director, was travelling with her husband to Alicante from Leeds Bradford Airport. Ryanair staff stopped her before she boarded.
It turned out that her suitcase exceeded the size limit by only 2.5 centimetres. Nonetheless, instead of allowing her to bring the luggage into the cabin free of charge, they demanded an additional fee of £75 to place the suitcase in the hold.
The traveller accuses the airline of age discrimination
Maxine, however, noticed that other passengers whose suitcases also seemed a bit larger were not stopped. She believes that a younger and more attractive woman passed through the check with a similarly sized bag without any issues.
Haughian was so irritated by the situation that she secretly took a photo of this passenger. She later expressed her frustration on Facebook, where she wrote that she is "disgusted" with the airline's behaviour.
"I’ve just been held up for 20 minutes because they said my cabin bag was too big and I must pay an EXTRA £75 for it to go in the hold. Alternatively, I can leave it and forfeit the bag and its contents!" Maxine wrote. "It’s funny (not funny) how other bags that are exactly the same were allowed through without comment. It’s a good job I took the photo of this (gorgeous) girl pushing her case into the box and being allowed through. Mine is the pink case, and I see no difference whatsoever. I’m obviously not young or good-looking enough," she added.
She also sees a lack of consistency in applying the rules
Eventually, Maxine was able to convince the staff that her luggage should not incur extra charges by showing them photos of other suitcases that passed boarding without an additional fee. Although she was pleased to be allowed to bring her luggage without paying, she believes the incident highlights the airline's unfair approach.
In a conversation with Oxford Mail, she stated "It was almost like letting me go justified what I was saying. I think it's definitely a money-making exercise. I'm a bit older, perhaps he thought I would be compliant. A lot of people just paid the money. If you've got rules, they should be applied evenly and equally. I couldn't determine how they were applying the rules. It made me feel helpless," Maxine concluded.
