Wearing 10 layers? Good luck boarding
Canada’s airport security agency has no issue with passengers boarding a plane wearing every sweater and pair of jeans in their wardrobe to avoid baggage fees, but individual airlines may stop them from boarding flights.
Earlier this week, Ryan Carney Williams, who goes by Ryan Hawaii, tweeted that he was not allowed to board a British Airways flight for London at Keflavik International Airport in Iceland because he was wearing too many layers of clothing.
Hawaii said he could not afford the $154 excess baggage fee so he removed the extra clothing from his luggage — 10 shirts and eight pairs of pants — and put them all on.
Wearing a plaid shirt on top of two overcoats and several sweaters tied around his neck in what he admitted was a “comical” display, Hawaii said he was denied a boarding pass and was asked to leave.
According to his Twitter account, police were called when he refused to leave the airport, shoved him to the ground, pepper-sprayed him and arrested him. The following day, he returned to the airport but was not allowed to board a flight with EasyJet because of the incident. Eventually, Hawaii, who suggested racial profiling played a part in the incident, got home aboard a Norwegian flight.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority said flyers can wear as many layers of clothing as they’d like as long as it doesn’t set off any red flags at airport screening.
However, wearing so many extra layers may draw extra attention, spokesperson Mathieu Larocque admitted.
“If they can’t confirm there are no threats through routine screening, it is possible that some of the layers would need to be removed,” Larocque said.
Security’s concern would be that a non-permitted item or an explosive could be hidden underneath so many layers, but if “there’s nothing to be worried about … you can be on your way,” Larocque said.
But clearing the screening process doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to board the flight. CATSA doesn’t deny boarding — it makes recommendations to individual airlines that then make the final decision.
WestJet spokesperson Lauren Stewart said the flight crew might stop a passenger from boarding a plane because of potential “overheating or fainting.”
“In that case, we may, out of an abundance of caution, either remove the guest or deny the guest boarding,” Stewart said.
“Safety is our top priority and it is in the best interest of all concerned to avoid the risk of a serious medical event while in the air.”
In 2015, Scottish boy band singer James McElvar collapsed from heat exhaustion on a flight from London to Glasgow while wearing 12 layers of clothing to avoid a $77 fee.
Porter Airlines flyers, however, can wear as many clothes as they’d like without being troubled by potentially being kicked off a flight. Porter spokesperson Brad Cicero confirmed “we would not prevent someone from boarding a flight in the circumstances described.”
According to Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick, “We don’t have a dress code for customers, but expect passengers to be attired appropriately, particularly for reasons of safety and comfort.”