Baggage woes are a seemingly never-ending problem for travellers, with passengers often trying new hacks to avoid paying airlines’ excess luggage fees.
But they don’t always go to plan. In the latest attempt, a teenager in Australia was fined by low-cost carrier Jetstar after trying to get around the rules by wearing 13lbs of clothes.
In a video posted online, 19-year-old Adriana Ocampo is seen wearing several layers of clothing after she was reportedly told she would be fined AU$62 dollars (£33) as her baggage was over the weight limit.
The teen was travelling from Melbourne to her hometown of Adelaide after a trip with a friend. Speaking to South West News Service, Ms Ocampo said that she “looked like a bear” while trying to pull off the stunt.
“I’m small and petite but I looked like the exact opposite”, she said, adding that the pair saw airline staff pulling out a trolley with a scale as they went to board.
“We thought the only way we can take the weight off our bags is if we put it on ourselves, so we started putting on our jackets and coats,” she said.
“As well as layers of jackets and jumpers, I had baggy trousers on and I was stuffing t-shirts and my iPad in them,” she said.
“I had about six layers on and stuff in my pockets”.
In the video, Ms Ocampos can be seen laughing as she prepares to board. She compared her appearance to Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
“Everyone in line was staring at us and laughing at us, it was kind of embarrassing,” she lamented.
“People were annoyed that we were holding the plane up.”
To make matters worse, their attempt was to no avail, with the pair still having to pay the fee.
In a statement to The Independent, a Jetstar spokesperson said: “While we certainly see the funny side, we have limits to carry-on to make it fair for everyone.
“Keeping track of how much baggage passengers bring onboard means everyone has room for their belongings and we’re meeting our safety requirements.”
