mau5trap, Donator
Ryanair staff instructed Spanish police to remove a passenger from its aircraft minutes before take-off because she had the wrong type of hand luggage, it has been claimed.
Video posted online showing Guardia Civil officers ejecting the woman from the aeroplane, which was ready to take off from the Valencian airport of Manises on Wednesday morning, has sparked outrage.
According to Spanish newspaper ABC, she had broken the budget airline's golden rule of only boarding with a small package - as she was carrying a book and a scroll which would not fit in her suitcase.
Footage shows the woman begging with the officer to let her board, with seated passengers heard saying they will look after her belongings.
But her pleas were rejected and she was removed from the flight. Others are heard shouting 'shameful, shameful' at the officer as she is led back into the airport.
The video was posted on Facebook by a user called Soraya Pla, who said: 'Look at what we have just witnessed on a Ryanair flight, I am crying with helplessness.
'They took her forcefully, because of a simple book and a scroll that did not fit in her bag, without even letting us who offered to put in ours.'
It has since gone viral and led to calls from Spanish Twitter users to boycott the airline.
ABC reports that Ryanair prevents its passengers from carrying more than a package as hand luggage and makes clients who carry bags or other items put them in their suitcase or pay for them before boarding.
On the Facebook post, it is claimed that the woman ejected was heard saying that her credit card was not working and she could not pay the €50 (£40) fee.
But Ryanair has defended its actions by claiming the woman had become disruptive and had 'pushed past its 'gate agents' without showing any ID or her boarding card'.
A spokesman said: 'This passenger was in breach of airport security regulations, and having become disruptive was properly removed from the aircraft at the request of Ryanair agents.'
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