What's good for TikTok isn't always good in reality, as one gentleman at Orlando International Airport learned after trying a viral packing hack that got him kicked off a flight.
The traveler had obviously seen one of the many pillow trick videos people have posted on social media in which they stuff a pillowcase full of extra items that they can't squeeze into their carry-on luggage (for example, see first video below, posted by victoriia_ro).
But "sometimes it's not going to work, okay?" said another traveler in her own video, who recorded the man's attempt at smuggling his luggage overflow. Her video shows him arguing with employees at the gate before police come to ban him from his flight. (See second video below, posted by natashaorganic.)
"Stop letting these social media sites give you tips and tricks because sometimes it's not going to work, okay?" the bystander, who goes by Natasha, said in her TikTok clip. "This dude was trying to take in a pillowcase full of clothing and other items, which he is stating is simply just a pillowcase."
From The Independent:
Natasha said it was obvious that the passenger wasn't just bringing a pillowcase or a normal pillow. What's more, the man was offered the opportunity to pay the appropriate fee for an additional carry-on, but he declined. However, towards the end of the video, the man can be heard saying he's willing to pay. Unfortunately, it was too late.
"He waited all the way up until they closed the doors to be like, 'Okay, I'll pay for it now,'" Natasha explained. "And then he tried to like bogart his way into the freaking, I don't know what that's called, before you get into the plane."
She added: "And they were like, 'Bro, back away. We gave you your chance and you didn't pay for it.' And they ended up calling the cops on him. And he ended up getting escorted out." …
On Reddit, anonymous users warned others not to try the trick, admitting they knew people who hadn't gotten away with it.
"I don't know. In SFO, the gate ladies told us we had to put our pillows in our bags," one person admitted, while another said: "I think budget airlines consider a pillow to be a personal item. I concur with wearing lots of clothes and shoving things into your jacket as the tried and true method."
The trick seems to have worked for some passengers when these videos first popped up, but then they went viral. TIL: Airport employees watch TikTok too.
Previously: Woman gets kicked off plane for unusual misdeed: asking to be ignored
