'Luggage too heavy? Say no more': Traveler gets backlash for airport malicious compliance

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
May 30, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

Imagine what would happen if you just showed up to the airport without reading the rules. In current year, there are an absurd amount of really specific airport rules that every passenger has to follow. Your carry-on luggage and checked luggage each have weight limits and have to be under a certain dimension. For carry-on luggage, it's got to fit under the seat in front of you. Then there's the issue of liquids, which all have to get smushed into one quart-sized bag. There are things you can and can't take on the plane with you. The airline you're flying with will surely send you a very long document about all this, but if you're lucky, you know someone who flies a lot and can give you the TL;DR version. 

This person, u/RuffyDuffy, shared the story of the time they showed up to the airport for their trip to Greece while carrying some overly heavy luggage. People in the comments section were not thrilled with this traveler's story of malicious compliance. They let this flyer know that some rules really are in place for a good reason. 

After you read about this luggage mishap, check out the movie theater employee who got back at a customer for her free soda idea. 

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  • 01
    chrome acer
    via Anete Lūsiņa on Unsplash
  • 02
    Hand luggage too heavy? Say no more! Hey everyone, after long time lurking I wanted to post an encounter that happened a few years ago. Non-native speaker and on mobile so beware.
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 03
    I was about to catch a flight to Greece with just my big travellers backpack. The flight company's policy stated a limit of how heavy carry-ons should be and before my flight I weighed my backpack and it was a little over the limit but I thought that would't be an issue. Or so I thought.
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 04
    Just before the passport checks, there was an attendant checking the weight of each luggage. My turn came and lo and behold the backpack was 2 kg too heavy and the attendant told me that I have to leave some stuff behind. Like throw it away or give it to family members who brought me to the airport. I asked him if he could make an exception for me as I had no one to give the extra baggage to. The attendant just told me, of course, that if the
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 05
    backpack isn't within weight limits he couldn't let me pass or I would have to pay for it an extra 50 Euros. For 2 friggin kilograms? No way in ....l, I thought. So I stepped aside a few feet from where he could see me, opened my backpack and took out about 10 shirts and some short pants with elastic waistband and started to put them all on. The attendant (and
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 06
    the other people around me) just watched confused or amused. His face expression looked somehow bewildered. So then I put the backpack on the scale again and would you have guessed it? It was below 10 kgs. He said nothing and let me pass. I felt thriumphant but still too hot from all the clothes. After going through passport checks and TSA I still had time to change
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 07
    back and stuffed all the shirts and pants back into my luggage. The End. EDIT: just a little extra information about me: I know that rules are rules. And normally I am extra catious about the policies but as I mentioned in another reply my scale at home was not working right and 'only' showed me a little above limit.
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 08
    With that said I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask but when I saw the 'real' weight my hopes vanished a little tho. I understand that the attendant had to do his job and has to deal with much more unpleasant passengers so I complied without wanting to get him in trouble. But I also couldn't just YEET my stuff into the next bin. I wasn't trying to 'stick it to BIG CORP' or to the attendant after letting me pass with my new formed cocoon.
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 09
    Unit_79 D... 1. Those are some heavy a shirts.
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 10
    dirtisgood I had the same issue with luggage. My suitcase was over the limit so I put stuff in my backpack (my airlines. didn't weigh backpacks) the suitcase came under and my backpack weighed like 35 lbs!
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 11
    I did this all curbside at the west palm beach airport in Florida. For those non USA types, this is in a very wealthy area in FL.
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 12
    spencurai I always wear cargo shorts or pants when flying for this exact reason. Stuff those pockets to make weight and then re-pack after TSA.
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 13
    SirBellwater The actual reason this rule is usually so strictly enforced is weight carrying limits for a single employee. The reason 2kg requires the extral charge is because OSHA or whatever occupational safety agency is in your country will require 2 people to lift it if it's over a certain weight, even if only a few grams
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 14
    nooneknowswerea... Once I was flying home from the US to Canada with my sister and nephew. My sis and nephew went through the metal detector, but just as I was about to step through the security folks. noticed I was carrying a bag of about a half-dozen enormous apples we'd brought as a snack. Of course, I'd forgotten about the prohibition against
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 15
    carrying produce across the border. For the record, the security folks were both professional and absolutely friendly (this was the 90s). Security: "I'm sorry, you can't bring those apples through." Me: "Oh, right! Produce. Sorry! Um, can I give them to you to eat?"
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 16
    Security: "No, we can't accept those. We would have to throw them in the garbage." Me: "Really? That seems wasteful." [I notice there is no line, and the only people waiting are my sister and nephew on the other side of the security check. Of course, they know what's about to happen.] "Can you give me a sec?"
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 17
    I sit down in the chair next to the metal detector, open the bag, and proceed to eat 6 huge apples, one after the other. Security (to my sister and nephew): "Is...is he really going to eat all those right here and now?" Sister & nephew (in unison, rolling their eyes): "Oh, you have no idea."
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 18
    zandadoum The limit was 10kg, you were 2kg (20%) over and somehow thought it would be ok/no big deal?
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 19
    superkp the reason there is a weight limit is not for the plane, it's to adhere to safe working parameters for the flight attendants. In the USA we have OSHA, which has a rule that
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 20
    workers only need to lift a certain amount of weight over their head. So if your carry-on is above that, then the employee, the employee's manager, and the airline would all get in trouble (if reported to OSHA). And if something happens - like a short or a weak person brings a bag in that they can't manage to get in the overhead - then the
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 21
    attendant has to do it. Not because they want to, but because leaving it in the aisle is a big f ☐ hazard in the event of needing to evacuate the plane. So they MUST be able to lift it over their head, within safety parameters. And yes, they are a stickler about even one ounce over - because , if the industry די is doing this 10 million times a month (or whatever -
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 22
    number they have), they can't afford to around with it. Plan your bag to be a few pounds (or KG, w/e) under.
    via u/RuffyDuffy
  • 23
    kcl086 Have you just...never traveled before? I don't think this is malicious compliance at all. It's poor planning and total ignorance about how airlines operate. I weigh my bags in advance and make sure the scale says they're at least 1 lb under weight. Airlines don't I around.
    via u/RuffyDuffy

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