A TEACHER who was filmed having an emotional outburst after being denied boarding to a Ryanair flight has insisted a separate video proves she was right.
A viral clip showed Tsvetana Kalinina in meltdown at Sofia Airport in Bulgaria when she was denied boarding due to an “over-sized bag”.
The new video evidence shows her lowering her bag into the sizer
The teacher had been denied entry to the flight due to her “over-sized bag”
She had been asked to pay for the bag, but refused
She now claims the new video evidence proves she was right
It shows the 55-year-old weeping and banging on the doors when she was refused entry.
She had been told to pay for extra baggage because her luggage didn’t fit in the holdall.
Tsvetana said her bag could in fact fit and refused to pay the extra fee.
But she has now claimed a new video showing her luggage fitting into the baggage sizer vindicates her.
The video shows her gently lowering her bag into the sizer, attempting to demonstrate it had the correct dimensions.
“I was one of the last people in the queue,” she told the Daily Mail.
“I had a small handbag and my usual cabin bag – the same one I’ve travelled with for years without issue.
“I didn’t even think it could be a problem.
“When I started to check in, the Ryanair staff member suddenly told me I couldn’t carry both. “
Tsvetana said a man behind her had kindly offered to tuck her handbag into his luggage so she could go on through.
But despite this, a Ryanair employee still insisted she had to pay the additional fee.
“While I was trying to carefully place it in the sizer – because I had fragile items – the staff member just said, ‘That’s it. I’m cancelling your ticket’,” she explained.
She said the stress of the situation got to her in that moment, leading to her meltdown.
Tsvetana added that her distress came partly out of fear of losing her job if she didn’t show up on time in Vienna.
“The stress and shock overwhelmed me,” she told the paper. “I don’t remember everything because I was in such a state.
“I broke down. I know people said I was emotional or even aggressive, but I wasn’t. I never insulted anyone.”
Which she begged the other passengers for their support, cops tried to move her away from the gate.
“I felt like I was being treated as a criminal,’ she added. “It was humiliating. Completely degrading. And I truly don’t believe I did anything wrong, I followed the rules.
“Eventually I was taken to see a doctor at the airport. That’s how bad my condition was.
“The doctor was worried about my health after the mental toll of the situation.”
She added that she would “think twice” about flying with Ryanair again.
But a Ryanair spokesperson has defended the airline staff’s response to the incident.
They said: “This passenger booked a Basic Fare ticket for this flight from Sofia to Vienna, which allowed them to carry a small personal bag onboard.
“As this passenger’s bag exceeded the permitted size, they were correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee however refused to do so and became aggressive towards gate staff.
“As a result of their aggressive behaviour, the gate agent denied this passenger boarding for this flight from Sofia to Vienna.”
A video of her meltdown at Sofia Airport went viral
She says she will ‘think twice’ about flying with Ryanair again Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
