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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Hannah Phillips

Women wear 6.5kg of clothes to avoid airline's baggage fees - but get fined anyway

Two women attempted to get around an airline's baggage rules by wearing almost 6kg of clothing - but got fined anyway.

Adriana Ocampo piled on 15 garments including t-shirts, jackets, jumpers and trousers after realising her carry-on luggage exceeded the maximum weight limit of 7kg.

The 19-year-old was travelling with airline Jetstar from Melbourne to her home in Adelaide, Australia, after a girls' trip with 19-year-old pal Emily Altamura on March 20.

The hospitality worker knew her baggage - which weighed 12.5kg - was over the limit but hoped that cabin crew wouldn't have time to check.

When Adriana spotted staff weighing passengers' luggage at the desk, she flung open her case and piled on as many items of clothing as she possibly could in a bid to dodge the fee. Emily followed suit as her case was also over the limit.

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The women found their bags were over the limits (Kennedy News & Media)
Adriana explained how they tried to get around the fee (Kennedy News & Media)

A video shows Adriana in stitches as women layer themselves with multiple tops and jackets as well as stuffing garments and even an iPad down their baggy trousers.

The friends went to board the flight hoping their bags would be light enough to avoid the charge, but sadly Adriana's bag was still more than 1kg over the limit, even with her best efforts.

Despite piling on even more with Adriana wearing five-and-a-half kilos of clothing, the comically-oversized duo conceded defeat and claim to each have stumped up the $65 fine (£35).

A giggling Adriana was forced to sit on the one 80-minute flight home 'looking like Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' while wrapped in 15 items of clothing.

Adriana said: "I was in my hotel room and could barely close my luggage and I knew my bag was somewhat over the limit. When we went to board, we saw them pulling out a trolley with a scale.

Adriana attempted to squash her clothes into the bag (Kennedy News & Media)
The 19-year-olds opted to wear the clothes instead (Kennedy News & Media)

"We thought the only way we can take the weight off our bags is if we put it on ourselves so we started putting on our jackets and coats but we were still over the limit.

"They said the fine was $65 and we didn't feel like spending $65 so we went back and put more clothes on.

"I looked like a bear. I'm small and petite and I looked the complete opposite. It reminded me of the boy from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"I was hysterical, I was laughing so much. As well as layers of jackets and jumpers, I had baggy trousers on and I was stuffing t-shirts and my iPad in them. I had about six layers on and stuff in my pockets.

The friends ended up in stitches (Kennedy News & Media)
Despite her efforts she was still over the limit (Kennedy News & Media)

"I only had a couple of things left in my luggage like two pairs of shoes, a bag, a pair of jeans and a couple of socks. We went over again and were the only people at the gate.

"They said we had to get rid of the stuff on our bodies and we had to pay. Everyone in line was staring at us and laughing at us, it was kind of embarrassing. People were annoyed that we were holding the plane up."

A Jetstar Airways spokesperson said: "While we certainly see the funny side, we have limits to carry-on to make it fair for everyone.

"Keeping track of how much baggage passengers bring onboard means everyone has room for their belongings and we're meeting our safety requirements."

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