Irish budget airline Ryanair, which last week threw Belgian students off a flight following a heated argument over a luggage fee, yesterday offered a tongue-in-cheek video demonstrating how to pack a suitcase.
A company statement provided a link to a YouTube video which shows a young man packing his suitcase, to music from the shows of late British comedian Benny Hill.
Ryanair “today delivered an online tutorial in packing light and called on Belgian universities to add it to their curriculum following the unacceptable and unsafe behaviour of over 100 Belgian students last Saturday in Lanzarote,” it said in a statement.
“The YouTube tutorial”, the statement said, “demonstrates how passengers can pack enough clothes for a two-week holiday into one 10 kg carry-on bag.”
Some 100 Belgian students were thrown off a Ryanair flight in Lanzarote, in Spain’s Canary Islands, on Saturday after a shouting match erupted when a group of passengers refused to pay for oversized luggage at the gate before boarding the flight.
Spanish police intervened and ordered all 166 passengers off the plane, Ryanair said in a statement at the time.
The remaining 66 passengers were allowed to board the plane three hours later. Taking a more serious tone, Thursday’s Ryanair statement described the students’ behaviour as “unacceptable.”
Ryanair charges €30 for a first bag on Canary flights and an additional €40 for a second bag, according to the company’s website.
Scott Snowden
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