An unnamed Ryanair customer was praised as a “hero” on social media after he had covered the baggage fees for a stranger at Ibiza Airport.
A footage shows the young man paying the £50 ($65) fare for the distraught mother as she and her three kids try to board their flight from Newark to London Stansted Airport.
When the airline staff determined that the woman’s bag was too large to be carried on board, and informed her that she could only pay the oversized luggage fee with a credit card, Stephanie found herself in an uncomfortable and potentially stressful situation.
Twitter user @CoolCalmPoch uploaded a clip of a stressed mother at the airport, with the young man who footed the bill can be seen checking his mobile phone near the boarding gate.
The mother, obviously overwhelmed, puts her hands to her head and nervously rakes them through her hair. The stranger has noticed her distress and has turned around to comfort her.
In the clip, he can be heard assuring her, “It’s alright, it’s alright.”
Stephanie thanks him and continues to cover her face with her hands as he tries to calm her down.
As she begins to sob, he reassures her, “Don’t worry; I’ll pay for you.” The stranger then turns to the counter and pays with a credit card.
The video ends with him waiting for his payment to process as Stephanie tries to collect herself and one of her sons tries to calm his brother by saying, “No no mama is upset.”
Tweeting the clip, user @CoolCalmPoch wrote: “Well done to this young hero for paying the ridiculous Ryanair baggage charges for a distressed mother travelling with 3 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 cms would make.”
Well done to this young hero for paying the ridiculous Ryanair baggage charges for a distressed mother travelling with 3 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. pic.twitter.com/RosvQKh8tw
— We are one (@CoolCalmPoch) October 17, 2020
Airport employees initially told Stephanie there was no need to check in the bag, as she told Daily Mail. A later notification informed the mother of three that the item was too large and would incur an additional fee.
Stephanie, a resident of the Spanish island who returned from a brief visit to the United Kingdom, expressed her confusion at the airline’s refusal to accept her bag or place it in the hold, despite the fact that the plane was only about half full.
Lovely gesture from that guy. Also the staff are under horrendous pressure from their managers to maximise revenue and aren’t allowed show leniency, so it’s senior management who should be getting abuse, not the staff
— David D (@DavidD_001) October 25, 2020
“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,” she said. “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.”
Now that’s kind heartedness from a caring young man. I hope Karma gives you the rewards you so deserve.
— Gary AFC. (@Gary_AFC) October 23, 2020
“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,” she added.
Stephanie, a mother of nine-year-old twins and a one-year-old, said she contacted the passenger who filmed the incident in an effort to identify the young man who paid her baggage fee, but she couldn’t.
“Apparently he wants to remain anonymous,” she said. “I just want to have a chat with him because I don’t think he realizes how nice a gesture it was and how much it meant to me.”