BAG OFF
United Airlines passenger rows with cabin crew when they insist her carry-on is too big – but it fits PERFECTLY
A PASSENGER claims she was humiliated during a row with an airline worker over the size of a carry-on bag.
Natalia Rutkowski, 27, was travelling with her mother Anna, 58, from Chicago to New Jersey with United Airlines on February 12 when the incident occurred.
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Ms Rutkowski had checked her bag in at Chicago O’Hare Airport and was helping her mother to check in, SWNS reports.
It was then that Ms Rutkowski, who caught the incident on camera, claims she was told her mother was not allowed to take her bag onto the plane.
“It was a certain dimension that the bag had to fit, but the woman didn’t even allow us to put the bag into the personal item bin to show them that it fit inside,” Ms Rutkowski said. “She was extremely rude.”
The drama escalated when another staff member intervened, asking her to prove the bag fit the dimensions. That was despite the fact that Ms Rutkowski had already put the bag inside the carry-on bin as proof.
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A third employee then stepped in, pulling her bag out of the bin and saying it was oversized and didn’t fit, insisting she pay a $US25 ($A32) fee to check it in.
“Then a man came over and shoved his badge in my face and took the bag out of the bin and then plopped it back in sideways so it purposely wouldn’t fit.”
By this point, the situation was attracting a significant amount of attention from other flyers.
“There was a lot of fuss. I was agitated and there were a lot of people starting to stare,” Ms Rutkowski said.
“I didn’t understand why we were treated like that. It was so ridiculous.”
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The duo were then told they would not be allowed to board the plane.
“I was shaking and I literally felt like I was sweating and agitated,” she said. “My mum was teary. It was just an overwhelming situation. I had never been so disrespected and mistreated and embarrassed.
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“Honestly I was just bewildered and my mum was emotional and angry.”
“Finally the last person ... came over and I put it in and it clearly fit perfectly and he was like, ‘Oh, yes, it does fit. I don’t understand why we have this issue.’”
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The airline is investigating the incident, with a spokesperson telling Fox News: “The customer was allowed to carry on her bag.
"We have reached out to this customer directly and are reviewing this incident with our team to better understand what happened.”
This story was originally and was reproduced with permission.