A mother says she is desperate to track down the Good Samaritan who stepped in to pay her oversized luggage charge after staff ruled her bag was too big for the cabin.
The ‘hero’ was filmed footing the £50 bill for the ‘distressed’ passenger by a fellow flyer as travellers were attempting to board a flight from Ibiza to Stansted.
Stephanie, who only wanted to use her first name, told MailOnline how she has tried to get in touch with the man who helped but was told he wanted to remain anonymous.
The mother-of-three, who lives on the Spanish island but had made a short trip back to see family in the UK earlier this week, said she was initially told by airport staff there was no need to check in the bag, only to later be told it was too big and that she had to pay a charge.
‘The plane was half-full so I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t take my bag or put it in the hold,’ she said.
‘I was told I had to pay on card but I only had cash with me, so paying it was impossible. I don’t travel a lot and it’s been a long time since I’ve been on the plane, plus with everything that’s going on, you can see on the video that I’m quite anxious.
‘This kind man turned around and said he would pay for me – it was an amazing act of kindness that he really didn’t need to do. He literally came out of nowhere, it was a crazy experience.
‘If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to take my kids away for the weekend. Once we got on the plane he was a few rows back from me and I wanted to go over and give him a hug, but because of Covid I couldn’t.’
Stephanie, who has twins aged nine and another one-year-old, revealed she has been in touch with the passenger who filmed the incident to try and track down her Good Samaritan, but to no avail thus far.
She said: ‘Apparently he wants to remain anonymous. I just want to have a chat with him because I don’t think he realises how nice a gesture it was and how much it meant to me.’
In the video, the young man who paid the bill can be seen checking his phone near the boarding gate.
A Ryanair passenger stepped in to pay the ‘ridiculous’ baggage fee for a stressed out mother at Ibiza Airport. The ‘hero’ was filmed footing the £50 bill for the ‘distressed’ mother-of-three, after staff deemed her bag too big to be carried on board
The camera pans to reveal the stressed mother, whose two children are chasing each other.
The clearly overwhelmed mother puts her hands to her head and begins anxiously raking them through her hair.
Seeing her distress, the kind-hearted stranger turns around and reassures her, saying: ‘It’s alright, it’s alright.’
The exasperated mother looks at him gratefully, burying her face in her hands again as he tries to soothe her.
As she starts to cry, the man says to her: ‘Don’t worry I’ll pay for you.’
The good Samaritan then approaches the desk and willingly hands over his card for payment.
As it processes, a man asks if Ryanair has recently changed their baggage allowance sizing.
The older of the mum’s two children tries to calm his brother, saying: ‘No no mama is upset’ as the mum tries to compose herself.
The touching moment was posted on Twitter by a fellow passenger
In the video, the young man who paid the bill can be seen checking his phone near the boarding gate. The camera pans to reveal the stressed mother, whose two children are chasing each other
The clip ends with the generous stranger waiting for his payment to complete.
The touching moment was posted on Twitter by a fellow passenger, who shared the video and said: ‘Well done to this young hero for paying the ridiculous Ryanair baggage charges for a distressed mother travelling with three kids (who wasn’t getting any leniency from ground staff).
‘The flight from Ibiza to Stansted was half empty, not sure what difference a few cm would make.’
Ryanair’s cabin baggage rules stipulate that luggage must fit under the seat in front and can be no bigger than 40x20x25cm.
Oversized baggage is placed in the hold of the plane for a fee of £50.
The video, which has since been viewed hundred of thousands of times, has earned the gentleman heaps of praise.
One wrote: ‘What a legend! Karma will see him good.’
Another added: ‘There’s hope for humanity.’
A third wrote: ‘Well done young man.’
Seeing her distress, the kind-hearted stranger turns around and reassures her, saying: ‘It’s alright, it’s alright’ before paying the charge for her
The passenger later added: ‘Great kid isn’t he? No idea who he is though, kept himself to himself and acted honourably and discreetly without a fuss.’
The 46-year-old traveller who filmed the moment said: ‘As far as I could tell, the mother with her children had got caught out with a bag that exceeded the allowance on her ticket.
‘She was upset and rather tearful while also trying to keep an eye on her kids.
‘By the time I figured out what was going on, a young man stepped up to the ground handling staff and was heard to say ‘it’s okay, I’ll pay’.
‘The man preferred to remain anonymous.’
