A heart-wrenching incident at Sofia Airport in Bulgaria recently captured attention after a Ryanair passenger was denied boarding due to oversized luggage. The passenger, visibly distressed, broke down in tears after an intense confrontation with staff over the size of her bag.
On July 24, the unnamed female passenger was seen attempting to fit her luggage into a holdall in a video that quickly went viral. As her bag clearly didn’t fit, the airport staff explained that she would have to pay for additional baggage fees. However, the passenger, determined to avoid the extra cost, tried to force the bag into the compartment by slamming it, eventually managing to squeeze it in.
Despite her efforts, the Ryanair staff refused to let her board the flight, insisting that the size of her luggage was still unacceptable. The passenger, overwhelmed with emotion, began to plead with a border police officer, begging to be allowed on the plane. The emotional scene unfolded with onlookers witnessing her distress from behind a glass door.
As the tension escalated, the woman started banging on the door, calling for help. Her pleas grew louder as more staff surrounded her, and she eventually collapsed, dropping to her knees in tears. Witnesses, including Nikolay Stefanov, who recorded the video, described how quickly the situation escalated. According to Stefanov, passengers became increasingly uncomfortable and frightened, especially when they were threatened with flight cancellation if they didn’t board the bus for departure. Many of the other passengers chose to leave the scene.
Stefanov also commented on the lack of compassion displayed by the airport staff, expressing shock over how the woman was treated during the ordeal. The video soon went viral, reaching the attention of Bulgaria’s parliament, where Deputy Prime Minister Grozdan Karadjov ordered an inspection of the security footage, condemning the employees’ actions as “outrageous.”
In response to the incident, Goldair Handling Bulgaria, the ground handling company responsible for managing the Ryanair flight, issued a statement defending their staff. They confirmed that their employees acted “professionally” and emphasized that the staff did not engage in any physical contact with the passenger. Goldair also stated that they are responsible for ensuring that all luggage complies with the airline’s baggage rules, including measuring the size and collecting any extra baggage fees.
Despite the airline’s statement, the incident has sparked widespread public outrage. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary had recently confirmed that agents who spot and charge passengers for oversized luggage receive a bonus, further fueling controversy over the treatment of passengers with larger bags. O’Leary has previously spoken about the airline’s commitment to limiting excess baggage, suggesting that agents are incentivized to enforce strict baggage rules.
The incident serves as a reminder of the strict baggage policies that Ryanair and other airlines enforce, particularly regarding the size and weight of luggage. While airlines are entitled to enforce these rules, the manner in which passengers are treated remains a subject of scrutiny, especially when incidents like this one escalate into emotional distress.
The emotional breakdown of a passenger over oversized luggage at Sofia Airport has drawn attention to the aggressive enforcement of baggage policies at Ryanair. While the airline and its ground handling company defend their actions as professional, many are questioning whether more compassion should be shown in such situations. This incident also raises concerns about how passengers are treated when baggage issues arise, especially when strict policies are involved.
