'Humiliating and insulting': women were not allowed into the business class of the plane due to their excess weight

The sisters of Renelli and Tere and their mother, Juhan, are not destined to enjoy the luxury of a business class flight. They will be able to do this only after weight loss surgery. Writes about this with the BBC.

Фото: Depositphotos

While checking in at Bangkok airport, Thai Airways staff approached them with a measuring tape and told them they were “too big” for their business class seats.

Six months have passed since then, and 59-year-old Huhana still remembers the “disgusting” incident.

“Airport workers kept shouting, 'too big, too big.' People around us watched as they took our measurements at the check-in counter. It was so humiliating and insulting that I just cried,” Huhana said.

After that, they were sent to an economy class cabin.

Huhana says she will not travel by plane until she has lost weight in order to avoid such traumatic experiences.

“We were looking forward to traveling in business class, and in return we received psychological trauma,” she added.

Most airlines provide fat passengers with seat belt extenders.

But Thai Airways said the seat belts in their business class are equipped with airbags, which means they cannot be lengthened. The family is still embarrassed by such an explanation.

Huhana and her daughters tried to get a refund from Thai Airways. But the airline only offered to compensate for the difference in tariffs.

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The travel agency paid the entire amount for the flights, which sent the women to Thailand. However, this had to wait more than six months.

Thai Airways explained that after this incident, they will improve the customer warning system even at the ticket booking level.

But the sediment remained

Women came to Bangkok to participate in a weight loss program organized by Destination Beauty, a slimming and plastic surgery company in Thailand.

Martin Olsen, chief executive of Destination Beauty, said he was "very upset and surprised" by how the airline handled the situation.

He was also confused by the actions of Thai Airways workers: “Many obese people book business class because they cannot fit comfortably in economy class.”

However, the representative of the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) explained that each airline decides situations with oversized passengers individually.

Airlines calculate the take-off mass of the aircraft, consisting of the average weight of passengers, their baggage and fuel.

“Usually the weight of passengers does not exceed the permissible limits,” he said.

Most airlines recommend obese people to buy two seats.

However, few airlines clearly state the rules for transporting such passengers. For example, American Airlines clearly stated: “If a passenger's body extends more than one inch (2,5 cm) beyond the edge of the armrest and requires an extended seat belt, the passenger must purchase two seats.”

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