The man was barred from two flights in the space of two days.
A man claims to have been barred from boarding two flights from Iceland to the United Kingdom on two consecutive days for wearing all of his clothes in an effort to avoid baggage fees he couldn’t afford.
London resident Ryan Williams, AKA Ryan Hawaii, posted videos to his Twitter account in which he claimed he was denied access to a British Airways flight departing Keflavik Airport on 10 January after taking multiple items of clothing from his luggage – including eight pairs of pants and 10 shirts – and wearing them in an effort to avoid baggage fees.
https://twitter.com/RYAN_HAWAII/status/951088642881138688
https://twitter.com/RYAN_HAWAII/statuses/951088947777671168
Williams claimed he took such a drastic measure as he was unable to afford the baggage fees and that he had been told by British Airways staff that he wouldn’t be allowed board the flight even after doing so.
He was subsequently prevented from boarding an easyjet flight while adopting a similar approach the next day, as, according to the airline, the captain and crew said they had concerns about his previous behaviour, making him ineligible for a refund.
And AGAIN! Refused from 2 flights in 2 days for no valid reason 🙂 @easyJet @British_Airways thanks guys wonderful service pic.twitter.com/Ivoc0WZvXl
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 11, 2018
Still no response from @easyJet guess I'll take this straight to the courts and social media 🤷🏽♂️
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 12, 2018
Spoke to @easyjet via dm and this was there response, can't believe this is real life right now… pic.twitter.com/h8EqkEwTpH
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 13, 2018
EasyJet just refunded me so can't of been that concerned 🤷🏽♂️ https://t.co/iUsEJZmKC5
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 14, 2018
Williams described his ordeal in a series of posts and videos on Twitter, including a screenshot of a direct message exchange with easyjet in which he suggests he might sue the airline and a video post to British Airways in which he suggests he was subject to racial profiling. He has since been refunded by easyjet.
Speaking to Storyful, a British Airways representative said that they explained their rules to him and offered to put him on a different flight to London. The decision to deny him boarding “was absolutely not based on race,” the airline representative said.
“We do not tolerate threatening or abusive behaviour from any customer, and will always take the appropriate action.”
Williams has since arrived back in the UK after boarding a flight with a Norwegian airline.
To everyone reporting on my airport experience in Iceland.
PLEASE STOP SAYING I was EVADING excess baggage fees….I couldn't AFFORD the fee (£90) as a result of being left homeless in Iceland for over a week.
Paints a VERY different picture.
Thankful that anyone cares tho.
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 16, 2018
