'I flew with EasyJet and they picked on me by making me measure my bag four times'

Richard Deakin was jetting out of London Luton Airport to visit a pal in Málaga, Spain, for a four-night stay on September 28th and was only travelling with hand luggage.

The 37-year-old was carrying enough clothing for the short stay along with four tubs of gravy granules for his friend's mum.

Richard, who admits he was 'quite angry', was asked to place his bag in the sizer and despite acknowledging it was 'hard to get in' he claimed it fit - but staff didn't agree.

Miffed Richard asked a fellow passenger to film him putting his bag back into the sizer to 'prove a point'.

In the footage, shared on TikTok, Richard can be seen repeatedly shoving his bag into the sizer until it slides in.

Later in the clip, which has racked up more than 106,000 views, Richard can be heard quizzing staff members about whether his bag has to 'easily' fit into the sizer.

Richard claims he was forced to place his bag in the sizer another two times with managers watching and, fearing he'd miss his flight, took out a book and battery pack. The security consultant, who insists his bag did fit, claims it's a 'money-making tactic' and that people shouldn't simply stump up cash if their luggage is within the dimensions.

Despite some social media users siding with Richard, others criticised him for 'yelling' at staff.

Richard, from Halesowen, West Midlands, said: "If I hadn't been so persistent they would've forced me to pay that fine. It's a money-making tactic. Before I put [the bag] in I was confident it was the right size because I'd measured it and weighed it.

"At first it's a bit of a struggle pushing it down but then it just slides in and goes all the way down to the bottom. It was hard to get in because I had several tubs of gravy granules because in Spain it's quite expensive.

"I was quite angry. I did know I could just take a few things out of my bag but I was being a bit pedantic out of principle. If you want to pick on me, I don't mind having a debate about it. After that video was recorded a manager came down and asked me to do it again.

"This is the bit that really [annoyed] me. I said 'it's just been witnessed by six of your staff who said it's okay and this is the video'. He said 'I need to see it again'. I'd done it once or twice before the video, and [then] two times with managers. It looked like the flight was going to take off and I was scared at that point.

"The ego got put away in the back pocket really quick. I took the book and the charger pack out and put [the bag] in [the sizer]."

Now, Richard is urging fellow holidaymakers not to pay excessive baggage fees if their luggage is within the requirements.

Richard said: "So many people wouldn't have been so persistent and fallen right into the trap. There are people that won't stand up and talk and ask the question so they're getting charged. While I understand the rules, it's frustrating to pay for a bag that was underweight and would have been placed in the same overhead locker as everyone else's.

Some users jumped to Richard's defence in the comments. One user wrote: "EasyJet should be ashamed."

Another user commented: "I will avoid EasyJet at all costs. It's a greedy, uncaring airline. Shame on them."

A third added: "If it fits, it doesn't matter if it's easy or not."

Other users criticised Richard for his demeanour.

One user wrote: "Why are you yelling at them?"

Another commented: "Why are you shouting at them for doing their jobs?"

A third user commented: "That bag is too big. Simple as that."

An EasyJet spokesman said: "We have a well understood bag policy and customers are only charged if their bags are too large, in fairness to customers who have paid to bring larger bags, and we do not tolerate aggressive or threatening behaviour towards our ground crew. Once Mr Deakin was able to fit his bag in the gauge, he was not charged and was able to board."