An ex-flight attendant has revealed a cunning plan to avoid disastrous extra fees if you buy too many gifts while you’re on your holiday. For many, there is temptation to buy all kinds of trinkets, dishes and even local wines to bring back to the UK.
However, this can mean people could be hit with enormous excess baggage charges - but a cabin crew member has revealed a hack to avoid some of them. Kat Kamalani worked as a flight attendant for a US airline for over six years, and during that time she discovered a number of ways to make travelling easier.
In a video posted to her TikTok page, Kat explained: “This tiny hack will save you if you ever have baggage that is overweight while travelling.” Excess baggage charges depend on the airline, the Express reports.
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A main carrier at East Midlands Airport is Ryanair. In its charges list, excess baggage can be purchased online up to two hours before departure for £9 per extra kilo. The price at the airport/call centre/kiosk is £11 per extra kilo. At the airport a 20kg check-in bag costs £59.99.
In one video Kat said: “This hack works the best when you are travelling home from vacation. You will always want to carry a pillowcase in your bag because if your bags are overweight you can stuff your pillowcase full of clothes and use it as a pillow on the aircraft. This is seriously a game changer to avoid those fees for overweight bags.”
Kate also confirmed that in her experience a pillow does not count as a personal item or towards airline luggage allowances.
In other news, holidaymakers have been warned to allow 10 weeks for new passports if they are planning to travel abroad this summer. According to The Daily Telegraph, the Home Office has advised that the 10-week deadline introduced during the pandemic would remain in place due to an “elevated” and “volatile” demand for travel documents.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman reportedly told MPs: “We expect elevated demand for passports throughout the year – and demand can be volatile – so customers should continue to allow 10 weeks. I urge people to apply in good time and not at the last minute.”
It comes after figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats by submitting parliamentary questions, which were shared with the Telegraph said the number of passports lost by the Home Office was at a five-year high.
The Lib Dem MP for Bath, Wera Hobhouse, told the paper: “These are new heights of incompetence for the Home Office. British travellers who urgently need new passports are being left high and dry by these endless delays.
“With more and more passports going missing each year, it’s no wonder people are fed up with this endless travel chaos. The Home Office needs to step up and take decisive action before more people are let down and lose confidence in these services.”
The publication of these figures comes amid a hike in passport fees – which came into effect last Thursday. From February 2, the cost of applying for a new British passport rose from £75.50 to £82.50 for adults, and £49 to £53.50 for children.
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